How can you tell if a start-up company is worth joining?

If you join a start-up company as an ordinary employee, so the question you think about is to join any company, that is, "How's The money?" and "What's the job?" "What is the working hours, often overtime?" I have a lot of room for development. " The only question to consider more is "how fast the company is growing". Because the biggest bonus for joining startups is growth, as Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg says, "Find a rocket ship."

If you join a start-up company as a partner or director, you have a lot to think about. I'm sure there are several startups you can choose from, so be sure to remember

Choice is more important than ability.

First question, can this thing be bigger?

Several investors have told me that entrepreneurship must be a big market project. A startup project has failed, many times not because the team is not excellent, or you are not enough effort, but the market itself is very small, you can not be big.

If you are the first time to start a business, do a small and beautiful project rose experience value is good. However, a small and beautiful project in the late May become a chicken, it has not been proved by the market to die quickly, there is no explosive growth, the project is the most tragic. When you have been able to join a start-up team at the level of a partner or director, I believe that you have been working for some years and have made some achievements in your field, when your time opportunity cost is high. So you have a great person to do a little thing, and a few powerful people together to do a big thing. You know, Facebook's top 100 engineers earn more than 99% of entrepreneurs. In China, the situation now is that everyone is going to start a business. But five very powerful people could have made a billions of dollar company, they had to create five companies themselves, and died.

What's the big deal? is the homeopathic project.

Each entrepreneur said his project has two bright eyes, all feel that their idea is super cool, within five years will be listed. Don't just listen to him. You have to judge for yourself.

At that time I was talking about several entrepreneurial projects, such as tourism, electric business, O2O, plastic app, smart hardware. I have analyzed: tourism and education is a very hot project for two years, VC hot cast is also the focus of media coverage of the project; O2O is also a major trend, but the homeopathy has an important point is to pinch the timing, can not do early, the market is not acceptable, such as 05 mobile phone reading app, can not do late, Then the big Red Sea don't plunge in, such as 11 12 years of group buying; the electrical Business Project is already talking about the D-round financing, all the data are particularly good, and almost is the rhythm of the market in two years, although the plastic surgery is more controversial, but also hot in recent years, taxis and offices in the ad particularly much, Customer single high, high frequency of repurchase, high decision cost and asymmetric information make a third party platform app have great development space; Intelligent hardware This two years also very hot, I talk about that project also got B round, but for a smart hardware market how big, I actually touch not.

Then I met the original Wheat hill. Because I was in the Internet circle, I knew nothing about the traditional industry, and I didn't know what to ask when I first met the founder Alan.

But whether a project has a broad market can be verified from data and analysis. I simply google the data, bread in China's big market every year 300 billion of sales. If the Giants can reach 10% of the market, that is 530 billion a year. Then look at the difference between competing goods. At present on the market some do a good bread brand are all Japanese-style sweet dough, is small, soft, high oil high sugar high calories. To homeopathy, the food industry is the potential of health. At that time, the CEO of the original Wheat hill and I said they do is a soft European package, bread category is different, and are low fat and low sugar salt, competing products can not from the category, fermentation technology, baking technology and equipment to do fundamental changes, so it is competitive.

Later I also asked a few investors friends, they and I said, bread belongs to the catering industry, just need to add high-frequency. Not like the internet bubble, because it is consumer goods, almost not affected by the economic crisis, and will not because of the overhaul of the four winds and affect turnover.

The conclusion is, well, the market is big.

Second question, do I like to do this thing?

Different people think differently about whether they want to do what they really like.

For example, Lei and Chen Au said, to do a market big enough things, rather than their favorite things. So Chen Au gave up the game related to continue to be interested in, and several other men to make cosmetics. But in Silicon Valley, every entrepreneur will say that he founded the project in order to change the world, realize their life value, the pursuit of their own meaning and so on life. It's also a cultural difference, and I find that Chinese entrepreneurs are more concerned about whether or not they are going to do business. But for me, if one thing I don't like so much, it's hard for me to do it for a long time.

In those years of Silicon Valley, I was brainwashed by people who wanted to change the world on the Internet, so when I first came back, I thought, ah, starting a business is going to be a social networking site or a tool or a app. So just returned to do and want to do is such a thing, and do not pick up the atmosphere is very unreliable.

Then there was a time and a meal with Wen Xin, he and I said, he used to create a blog in China, at that time did very big, the flow has done Alex world top dozens of, pulled a sum of 12 million dollars of investment, and then have been unable to find an effective business model, the investment has become the biggest failure of the investment case. So he vowed not to do the flow of unprofitable projects, began to sell a penny to earn a penny of the global electric business Light in the Box, and finally the company also listed last year.

I was touched by the words of Wen Xin. I find myself in fact more interested in real goods than in invisible Internet products. Although to which company I do is the market, but give an app to do marketing and to a bread chain to do marketing is still a big difference. The brand of life (lifestyle PS), I am excited to tell stories, to play with ideas, to put an idea into someone else's brain.

So what I did later was lifestyle PS, whether it was a joint-created detox brand of fruit and vegetable juice, or the bread brand that is now made in the original Wheat hills.

If you like the whole thing on this project, but the pit you like is already occupied by others? For example, you obviously want to do products, the result they say we have product director, you go to do market promotion bar.

The former cofounder and I said that what you do in a start-up company is not important, how close to the CEO's distance is important. That's what someone once told Sheryl Sandberg, "If you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, got on, don ' t ask what seat."

But when you ask, "What am I doing at this startup," if the other person says "You can do anything," you should never join. Because the CEO probably didn't think clearly what to do after you came. Without clear responsibilities and powers, you will be hit by a wall. For example, are said to do the market, you think you have to do after the brand, but others want you to do is PR or operation, or even sales.

A company's product tuning and Target customers have decided on the boundaries of what you can do after you join. Take marketing, if a company to play low price into this card, and the target users are most of the thirty or forty-year-old middle and low end of the crowd, which determines what you have to do is the operation and PR, tell the story what use.

Joining the original Wheat hill is Dushe's introduction, he is both an entrepreneur and an investor. In fact, Dushe first to find me when, in fact, want to let me join his squirrel interconnection, I said to do the elderly smart product market is certainly big, but I do not, my parents are only 50, I do not understand the market, their pain point I really can't catch. (Dushe wanted to cast the angel of the original Wheat hill before, but because it was too late to cast, he introduced me to them.) After a long time, our CEO, Alan, knew about this, and I said he was impressed with Dushe, a talent who didn't join his company, he wasn't hiding, and he was willing to recommend it to other companies. ）

You can't sell something you can't buy.

The third question is, can we all work together?

A good idea is not important, it is the good idea who does it.

Well, talking about it is a lot of sadness.

When I joined the first startup project, I talked to the two partners only two times, think of this thing is reliable, the blood joined, but later found that the founder is a person without contract spirit, a round before and after the other two cofouner and other responsible person did not follow the agreement to get stock options, I also "purification out of households." The second time to join an entrepreneurial project, the founder of special Nice, industry is also a special fire industry, but also chatted two times decided to join. But only one months I found myself and his experience, background, way of thinking, ways of doing things are too big, this is really the difference between genes, how long it is impossible to run, can only leave.

I realized my problem was always wanting to make a quick decision. But it's really urgent to find a suitable partner. Finding a good partner is no less difficult than finding a good lover. Sho Dun told me that he created a job network to find partners when everyone will know all aspects of the habit of doing things, the views of various matters, even the wife of the person to pull out to chat ... He and now this cofounder is chatted for six months only then decided to start a business together.

So this time, I gave myself three months to make a decision, and I talked to every founder many times.

The founders of these companies are the ones I've known or worked with before, and the others have been introduced by very reliable entrepreneurs or investors, which has actually helped me make a preliminary screening. But I still do a lot of extra work before I see every founder: I will ask angel investors and VC for this industry evaluation, I not only asked investors who voted for this company, I will also ask the investors who did not vote for this company; I'll talk to the CEO or executive of the company's auction company. I'll ask the people who have left the company what they think of the company, and I'll ask the tech and financial press how they feel about the founder.

The first time I talked to Alan, I found that I was a lot different from the team. They are all from Taiwan, I am from the mainland, they are men, I am female, they are 30-50 years old, I am only 20, they have been doing the traditional industry, and I have been in the Internet start-up company. In order to close, I had to find a link-yi, my ex-boyfriend is Taiwanese blood oh ...

The only reference to whether a person will be able to do things in the future is whether he has ever done things in the past.

Alan and I talked about the backgrounds of everyone in the team. He was the youngest project leader in Taiwan's largest listed company before he was 30 years old. He has been in China for more than more than 10 years, but also has a wealth of experience in the catering industry; This is the 10th company that our CTO founded, and the most successful one was bought by another in preparation for the IPO (Yi, rumor is that Taipei 101 has a layer of his The operator has more than 10 years of operational experience.

With a reliable person, no matter what you do, it will not be too unreliable.

The failure rate is extremely high, so it is best to start a business with a serial entrepreneur who has gained some experience in past failures. If the team is the first to start a business, then you have to assume that if this failure, I would like to do another project with them.

I had previous experience of starting a business with someone from a traditional industry, and I found it impossible to change the gene, so I still have a lot of question marks in my mind when I meet a team with a traditional industry background. I wrote them a long email telling them what I wanted to do and what to do if I joined the original Wheat hill. I met everyone on the team. Alan also deliberately built a micro-group, called "Air Force Command", we daily in this micro-trust group to share and discuss the various articles and information about the market and the Internet. I also went with them to examine the new location and discuss the marketing activities they were doing.

We've been "date" for 1.5 months ...

When I finally joined the original Wheat hill, Alan and I said that because I was so different from their genes, the last thing he wanted was two things, one I was assimilated by them, the other I was pushed out by them. There is an allusion called "three years left". During the Qing Dynasty, Tso went to the frontier to fight, the court many people take advantage of this to say the left, Empress Dowager Cixi to avoid his worries, and the Minister of the DPRK to say three years in the throne of Tso said he bad. Alan also said to everyone in the team, "three years left, no one within six months to challenge Ying." ”

But more important than character is what everyone wants.

Our Operations Manager pays special attention to detail. He's going to stare at every campaign. Whether every step is planned well. Our chef receives a media interview and he gets nervous and worries about every word he says. I puzzled before, until one day he suddenly and I said, Ying, I am more than 40, the original Wheat hill is my last company, if failed I can only go back to Taiwan rural farming. So he doesn't allow anyone to make any mistakes. However, our CTO is unusually calm, what happened in the company he is not excited, what happened in the company he is not worried. ' I've been doing business too many times, ' he said. ' One company has only two key points, one is proven by the market, the other is blowout. These two points to grasp, as long as do not make any particularly big mistakes, the other does not matter.

What a person wants will determine every detail of each day you work with.

Fourth question, money.

Finally, it is time to consider the question of money.

Which round did the company finance? How much did you melt?

We often see reports that many internet companies are moving to make a tens of millions of dollar value of hundreds of millions of dollars. In fact, many companies have published valuations and financing numbers divided by 3-6 is the real number. Some companies directly convert the amount of money into dollars from the people's currency, and even some companies are starting to multiply by 10 times times the number of ...

In any case, valuations are really a virtual thing, and many of the most highly valued companies have not been listed and have not been purchased without any more. So, when you ask the founder, "How much is your company valuing now?" "When he will tell you a number. But you just listen to this number.

More important than numbers is the clarity of the company's equity structure.

Some of the start-up companies 70% of the shares are angel investors ... Some startups have 10 average shareholders ... The larger the company develops, the more obvious the problems the equity structure poses.

Also can not from a company whether there are many angels or VC Rob to decide whether to join it. Some founders have not yet made a formed product can be brushed face to get the first angel investment, which is also the ability. Getting an angel investment is a bonus, but there are still too many uncertainties. VC, sometimes cast is also the trend, when a field of heat up, VC from strategic considerations must occupy a pit.

In any case, investment is always a probability. And they are investing in money, often not their own money, is the fund's money. But as an entrepreneur, you have to join a start-up company, the investment time Ah! Time is much more expensive than money.

How much money can I get? Shares？ Option？

This number is not a nail on the board. In China, how many partners have been torn off by the lack of shares, and how many companies have withdrawn their employees ' option contracts or diluted their shares dozens of times times hundreds of times times before listing? When the company has not made money, it can bear the burden of suffering together. In the end, the most important thing is whether the founder has a contractual spirit.

Each company's stage is not the same, each company's ownership structure is different, each company can last long far there are very many uncertainties, so the number of shares and options for you to change the range will be very large, and these numbers are really difficult to make a horizontal comparison. Some founders may give you a low option and then say to you, I only give you 1% but my company can do 1 billion dollars, others give you 10% but you can only do million and what, and you may not be able to get at all. This is a fact and a lie. Is the truth or is it true that only God knows ... You can talk to a few startups and see which companies are bigger and give them a good share or option.

As for the monthly salary ... You have come to the start-up company, but also consider what salary ah. To consider the salary, please go to a big company. The number of wages that a start-up company can pay is as good as the minimum living expenses.

In the end, joining any startup is a risky gamble anyway. It's the trend, the direction, the team, the CEO, and more likely, you're betting on luck. People who really want to start a business never have to think about whether they're choosing a big company or a startup, and if you've been hesitating and wandering, you're probably not the right person to start a business. I never thought entrepreneurship was the best choice and the only way to go.

Choice is always more important than ability.