I turned down an offer from one of SF's hottest startups. (if you guess the right one in the comments, I'll venmo you $50) My interviewer literally said joining their startup was holding a golden ticket - smart founders, clear path to IPO, big clients, all the right signals. Except the vibes were completely off. The interview? Founders didn't introduce themselves (I didn’t even know this random guy talking to me was the CEO). Didn't say hi. Just fired questions at me like I was interrupting their day. The technical portion started with "don't ask me questions." Glassdoor reviews confirmed what I felt. Then I work-trialed at Virio Day one, one of our founding members told the CEO they were exhausted and overloaded. What happened next told me everything: immediately Karishma Bali and Jeremy Ro jumped in asking how they could help. The fact that: 1. they could could be honest about struggling 2. people drop what they're doing to support you even when they're buried themselves was pretty insane to me. Startups are hard. I wanted to work with people who'd have my back when I'm struggling, not just when we're crushing it. People I'd actually choose to spend 12+ hours a day with. Turned down the shiny offer. Chose the people instead. Best decision I've made.
Love this. Reminds me of Naval's quote: "What you choose to work on, and who you choose to work with, are far more important than how hard you work."
Great choice. The people you work with matter so much, even more so when you are at a startup since there is no "other internal team to transfer to" and everyone works so closely with each other for long hours.
This is exactly it. The wrong team can make the best opportunity miserable. The right team can make the hardest work sustainable. You chose long-term velocity over short-term prestige
The real gold in any company is how people handle tough feedback and give honest praise, not just how they show support when times get rough. Sometimes, hidden culture issues only show up once you’re actually inside, so asking to shadow or trial can help spot these before committing.
Company culture is super important. Wellness = efficiency
Startups want immediate action to boost their companies.
the best team 💨💨
Soo happy to have you on our team!! If i guess right do i get the $50? ;)
Absolutely love this post
That's easy, cluely