Prep pack
Interview prep: Early-stage startup
Small teams where people cover a lot of ground and the role may change as the organisation grows.
These packs describe general patterns for a type of organisation. They are not about any specific employer, and processes vary a lot. Always follow the instructions you are given for your own interview.
What interviews can look like
- Few interview rounds, sometimes with founders or senior people directly.
- Questions about wearing several hats, working with little structure and moving quickly.
- Practical exercises or discussions about real problems the team faces.
What to show
- Ownership: work you drove from start to finish.
- Comfort with ambiguity and changing priorities.
- Learning quickly, and how you do it.
- Judgement about what to do first when everything feels urgent.
How to prepare
- Work out what the product does and who it is for from its public materials.
- Prepare two stories where you took initiative without being asked.
- Be ready to discuss trade-offs between speed and quality.
- Think about what you would want your first month to deliver.
Questions you could ask
- What are the most important problems the team needs to solve this year?
- How are decisions made, and who makes them?
- What does support and mentoring look like with a small team?
- How do you handle the case where priorities change?
Watch out for
- Overselling yourself as able to do everything. Be honest about where you are strong.
- Ignoring questions about stability and funding that matter to you; it is reasonable to ask.