Several amusing blog posts are bouncing around this weekend regarding what sort of people are suited to work at startups. Most are from the founder point of view of who to hire and who not to, and how to avoid failure.

I thought I’d offer some employee perspective. I’ve worked at two startups and currently do not. I have some fairly clear reasons why.

Believing in the product

Before signing that contract to work at that cool new startup, ask yourself: Do you really believe in the product?

No, I mean really believe? Meaning:

• Would you use the product yourself? Would you recommend it to other people? Would you pay for it?
• Are you willing to work for a lower salary, deferred salary, or for free, putting in extra hours if need be?
• Do you believe in it so much that other things in your life - hobbies, family, friends, relationships, - can suffer while you labor to make it successful?

If you answered yes, you’re halfway there. Keep reading.

Love the work - not the eventual result

It’s a given that you should love your work. But I do believe a key attitude is necessary - a “zen” feeling that the journey is the reward. The majority of startups fail. Your product (that you love) could very well crash and burn, leaving you with nothing to show for, no job, and just a few additional lines on your resume. Therefore:

• Are you totally okay with the idea that all your hard work could very likely be for naught? Can you love the journey and not the destination?

If you answered “yes” to all of the above, congratulations! Go work at a startup.

Hype vs. reality

The statements above statements all all ideals. Generally speaking, the founders and high level executives will most certainly answer “yes” most passionately to all above. They get equity for taking on risk and getting behind their idea. But it’s also a given the rank-and-file employees won’t believe in the product as much or be more fearful of failure - therefore salary, stock options, and perks are implemented to make up the difference.

The tricky thing is founders will sell the dream as hard as they can - push the “kool aid” - and sell the fantasy payoff in the future - so employees will work for less pay in the present, to keep costs down. Any boss does that, but it’s more extreme with startups - it’s modus operandi to offer stock options in Silicon Valley in lieu of high salary.

I mention this because for the average employee, I must strongly advise to not believe the “stock option” hype to where you take on too much personal risk and sacrifice. Odds are, your options will be worthless. Even if you do get lucky, you then have to negotiate the hairy tasks of exercising, selling, and paying taxes, all while the stock market oscillates. Average employees also do not get anywhere near as many options as execs. Unfortunately, it’s easy to become clouded in Silicon Valley so that many of average joes think they’re on the road to riches when handed that currently worthless piece of paper. And management loves this, because they can get talented people to work for less.

I strongly advise killing the thought “I’ll work for a startup, get tons of stock options, and become rich.” You’re setting yourself up for huge disappointment. It’s the wrong reason. Re-read that stuff about product love above.

Management will also insist the company is fine when it’s actually going down in flames - it’s their job. But macroeconomic conditions will affect your company. No company exists in some bubble of awesomeness that is a direct result of super-dedicated employees drunk on kool aid. Tons of companies with excellent products fail. Be prepared to work your ass off and still lose your job.

So Go For It

That said, I don’t dissuade anyone from working at a startup. It’s a great experience. I just advise people to balance the reality with the risk and the hype, and make an informed decision, and do it for love of the technology - not the money.

To sum up:

• Really believe in the product to where you could make personal sacrifices.
• Really love your work, to where the journey is the reward.
• Don’t do it for just for the money.
• Don’t be blinded by the “dream” to where you’re oblivious to reality.
• Be prepared for a roller coaster ride.

These bullet points are strangely conflicted and slightly schizophrenic. You have to balance hype with reality, be totally dedicated to a company / product to make personal sacrifices, yet not psychologically crushed if / when it implodes.

And that’s why I don’t currently work at a startup. I just can’t handle that kind of stress anymore (it’s much more fun to just blog about ‘em).

But it doesn’t have to be one or the other. In closing, here are some additional, practical, and optimistic suggestions for making a startup experience work for you:

• Lessen the sacrifices: Work for a startup if / when you have less personal responsibilities that would suffer. Right out of college, if you’re independently wealthy, the kids are out of college, the spouse has a stable job.
• Lower your risk: Work a day job and do freelance or contract work for startups on the side.
• Lessen the hype: Stay aware of economic trends and what’s going on in the tech world.
• Increase the love (and potential monetary reward): Start your own company.

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