Know what you're getting into, get your full worth day 1, have an exit plan.
Pros
1. Unlimited time off* (*pending conditional approval with 14 day notice and that you aren't in the critical path. Expect to have to work during vacations or end it early. Also note in this structure, you can't sell vacation days to the company) 2. Flexible work hours, so you can run errands or go to appointments as needed. 3. Cool Project 4. Generally, lots of learning opportunities in your work since you have to wear so many hats. 5. A couple of great team members*. (*Cannot vouch for current team, no team member has lasted 2 years at writing). 6. Contractually obligated to work only 30 hours/week
Cons
1. An inexperienced CEO with poor communication/leadership skills that puts the team last. 2. Long Hours!* Slow periods average 50-60 hours. Month(s) long sprints average 80-100 hour work weeks. There is no overtime pay and the long hours are not optional and driven by the company's culture and management *only applies to Product team memebers. Operations team members work ~30 hours/week. You 3. CEO restricts information distribution (like knowing if you've run out of money) and holds all decision making power. Do not expect to be able to make decisions on your work, just recommend decisions. Do not expect to be in the loop on other parts of the company nor company direction. 4. No Promotions. The CEO doesn't see any value in accurate titles of employees relative to their responsibilities. Rather, he likes generic and low rank titles to ensure you will do any work he asks of you. 5. No Raises/Bonuses*. You can be told several times that you deserve a raise and that your work quality/amount is top notch and greatly appreciated, but external reasons prevent a raise. In my case it was the CEO's inability to fundraise. In the case of the next major milestone, I expect raises will be frozen until a product is manufactured and shipped. (*CEO received raises/bonuses)
