Tentative Jubilation!

[swestrup]

I got back from my job interview about an two hours ago, but its taken me this long to wade through my email (all the missing email from the last few days showed up while I was out), and have a long talk with taxlady about how it went. As to that: I have the Good News and the Bad News.

The Good News is that I've been offered a job as CTO at a new avionics startup, and will have a starting salary double that of my last job!!!

The Bad News is that the company doesn't exist yet; it doesn't even have a name. The money to pay me with is all virtual as well. The guy who hired me is scrambling to find people and put a team together, while his investors are doing various bits of paperwork that is supposed to make money appear in 2 to 3 weeks.

Sooo, its looking like its a really good job that just doesn't happen to exist quite yet. For now, I'm CTO of a unnamed company that I desperatly hope really does materialize in the next 3-6 weeks, and starts paying me. When that first paycheque clears, I'll will do a Gonzo Happy Dance, but for now, I can't help but think it all seems too good to possibly be true!

Comments

[designergirl.livejournal.com]

Make sure to keep in touch with these guys and regularly find out what's happening with the company so that you can have at least some idea of where you stand.

What do they want you to do? Wait for 3 - 6 weeks and then employ you, hoping that in the meantime you don't wander off elsewhere?

Just make sure that everything is above board and they're not stringing you along.

All that aside ...

[swestrup]

Thanks for the good wishes, and the concern.

The guy that hired me wants me to read up on all the paperwork about the company project, and then help him write up the budget and other documents to present to the investors. The investors want an idea of how much money they will have to come up with, how fast, and when they might expect to start getting returns on their investments, so I'll probably be meeting with the entrepreneur once or twice a week to help plan things until we go full time. In the meantime I'll be scrambling to get my personal projects into a shape where I can afford to put them on hold for a while if need be, while doing some research to bone up on the areas of the business where I don't know enough.

I have no doubts that the person who hired me is legit and is very determined to see this project take off, as its his baby and he wants it to succeed. He is also a long time friend of a long time friend. I probably first met him some 15 years ago, although I think I've only bumped into him once or twice since, so I can't say I know him very well at all. My only worry is that the investors might be stringing *him* along, or might be overly optimistic on how little money we will need or on how fast they can come up with it. There is also a certain amount of evidence that the entrepreneur has even less management experience than me (although he does have experience in other startups, which helps), but he seems well aware of his strengths and limitations and plans to hire folks to help in areas where he is weak. He also seems to be someone who is both frugal and well aware of the need to spend money in order to make money. This means that he is likely to ensure that we all have the equipment needed to do the job right, but that 'status' things like mahogany desks are NOT going to be a priority. (Its amazing how many startups sabotage themselves by spending their limited money on the wrong things.) So, all the vibes I've gotten so far are good, but I'll be able to judge how things stand better when I've had a chance to chat with some investors.

For now, I'm giving it a 60% chance its real. Hopefully the odds will increase as I get more info.

Woohoo!

[designergirl.livejournal.com]

Well, I certainly feel better about it after reading this! =) It sounds like you have a really good chance with this and it's not going to be anything you did or didn't do that will determine whether or not the business takes off and they can hire you permanently.

I don't doubt that you'll put in 110% in the work they ask you to do. I can tell by just reading your journal that you take your work seriously and you work hard at whatever you're doing. *smile*

Keep us posted!