Looking for input for interviews at a start up

RGBoston·Nov 02, 2020

Posted in:Advice Job Hunting Startups Career Growth

Hi - I am interviewing (3rd round!) for a customer marketing role with a start up who has raised Series A funding. All my experience has been with large, established companies. I am looking to learn more about how to think about working at a start up and also what questions to ask during the interview.My questions are:1. Are there any blogs I should read to help me think about what it's like working in marketing/customer ops at a start up?2. What questions should I ask in the interview that are specifically related to start ups that show that I can think in a non-large company way?3. What are you thoughts on this, which someone posted on LinkedIn? Agree/disagree?Which funnels growth teams should be targeting, by stage:- seed: None - worry about P/M fit!- series A: Signup/Invite/sharing funnels- B: Activation funnel- C+: Monetization funnel- Big co: Reactivation and cross-sell flow to new productsGeneralizing in a big way (!!) but reflects the evolving goals (and skillsets) of a startup as it growsSeed/A startups have no users, so it's all about finding product market fit and growing top of funnel acquisitionOnce that works, then it's about retention and monetizationThanks!

elisabethtuttass·Nov 02, 2020

Hi Rebecca, congrats on making it to the 3rd round! The fact that you are asking these kinds of questions tells me that you are eager and qualified for the startup world. My recommendation would be to showcase that you are willing to do anything, maybe even outside your job description. Depending on how large the team is, you might have to roll up your sleeves and jump in for another team member or brainstorm with your team. Like any other job interview, highlight your background and what you can specifically bring to the table. Read up every article on this company and its competitors. Maybe read up some tech crunch articles about the specific industry trends—Listen to some podcasts about startups. Most importantly, show that you are passionate about the actual product/company. The team will want to see that you are a great culture fit, and considering you have made it through multiple rounds of interviews, your chances are pretty good. Let us know how it goes!

arielleshipper·Nov 02, 2020

Congrats on making it to the 3rd round!1. Lots of valuable research materials in here: https://firstround.com/review/2. I'd be asking about product-market fit, their go-to-market vision or plan (if they have one, or if they're looking for someone to develop it), business model, customer personas and their current base, and their long-term product vision.3. Broad strokes sure, but this is pretty dependent on the company hitting those seed/A/B+ milestones before their raise—and not all do. Many also pivot and change strategies entirely along the way, which means taking a couple steps back. I think it's totally fine to ask questions that help you figure out where they are, how they got to their A, and what their short-term goals are for the position. That will be the best measure of what funnels you should be targeting if you join.IMHO after working at a few early-stage companies, demonstrating adaptability, some generalist skills, excitement for the vision, and an ability to (as @elisabethtuttass said) roll up your sleeves and tackle anything that comes your way regardless of whether it's written on the job req or not will be important for success.Happy to chat more if you have more q's - just reach out to me here or on LinkedIn!

IsaCFritz·Nov 02, 2020

Congratulations! In addition to what @elisabethtuttass and @arielleshipper mentioned, I'd be interested in the board structure and primary investors. Now that they're Series A, they'll have more structure than SUPER early companies. IMHO - I also like to ask people what company milestone they're most proud of, since it will indicate if they're future driven or focused on just getting the most immediate thing done.

arielleshipper·Nov 03, 2020

these are GREAT questions!