Sunday, October 23, 2005
The Start-up Checklist
Given my past involvement with entrepreneurial ventures, this really caught my eye. David Beisel has a 7-point checklist for any of you considering joining a start-up.
1. If you are receiving employee options, what is the number of fully-diluted outstanding shares?If you need explanations, head over to Beisel's blog.
2. Has there ever been a down round, a flat round, or a CEO change?
3. What is the burn rate and how much cash is in the bank now?
4. What is the plan for exit strategy and its timeframe?
5. Could you meet the CEO, the founder(s), and those on the management team?
6. Are there plans in the next six months to hire anyone along the chain-in-command between your position and the CEO?
7. How many employees did/does/will the company have six month ago, now, six months from now, a year from now?
