Entering StartUpLand: An Essential Guide to Finding the Right Job

by Jeffrey Bussgang

Evaluate each company along the same criteria we venture capitalists employ, which are typically three simple ones: •Team: Is the founding team compelling? Can they articulate a vision that inspires you and others around them? Are they of high integrity? Would you want to work with them again in their next company? •Market: Is the market that the company is operating in massive (i.e., greater than $1 billion in revenue potential)? Is the market experiencing some kind of disruption that might lead to opportunity for a new entrant like this startup? How crowded is the market, and does this startup have a sustainable unfair advantage over the competition? •Business model: Are the unit economics (i.e., the comparison of revenues and costs of each customer unit or product unit) attractive? Is the company already able to articulate the lifetime value of each customer, the acquisition cost of each customer, and compare the two? Does the company’s business model contain network effects—that is, will the business get more valuable as the network of users grows such that initial market momentum will result in more momentum and value? If it has customers, do they appear loyal and have growth potential over time or are they canceling the relationship (churning out)?