Joining a startup ? A checklist
My career saw me moving from a MNC to an owner managed company, to a couple of startups, before heading a startup and currently advising startups. Having spent some time in the startup ecosystem, I have often been surprised by how often people, including those with considerable business experience, are wrong about startups they interact with. Most startups fail. Various estimates are that 90% of startups in India fail in the first 5 years. While startups continue to be registered in large numbers, outpacing those who officially shut, most of them end up in a corporate coma. They exist but not conduct any significant business. The high failure rate is something investors factor in. Suppliers and customers do not have a problem with a startup failure as there are always new companies entering the same space. The worst hit are employees. In a failing startup, they have to endure months of uncertainty before the end and then find it difficult to get a job elsewhere, partly beca...