On deciding which company to join
No, I am not a VC. But I stole this idea from them.
We spend precious time of our lives in working for a company. In turn, we learn, we grow and we also contribute to the growth of the company. So, why not we bet our time with companies that have a high probability of success.
I call this 5T framework, and the components are:
Team
If it is a startup, I would want to know more about the founders. Their past companies, track record, their social media presence, interviews, blogs written by them.
If it is a big company, I would want to know more about the team members or the manager (social media/blogs)
Is it a team of missionaries or mercenaries?
Tech (a.k.a. Product)
What is the product or tech that they are building? Why are they better?
Is it something that will make me get up from the bed with so much excitement to work?
Total Addressable Market (a.k.a. Market)
This is one of my recent personal learning. TAM or Market tells you if the company is in a crowded market or are they creating a new category or a market.
This will tell you the kind of company it is and the kind of challenge it has in many other growth-related activities.
Traction (a.k.a. Growth)
As they say, "Content (product) might be the king. But distribution is the kingdom", a key metric of a company's success is in its growth capability.
What are the channels/avenues with which they are trying to grow? Have they shown success with it? Am I confident that the growth function knows what they are doing is working or not?
Trenches (a.k.a. Defensibility)
Competitors. This is another heuristic to know if the company is in the right market or having the right growth path.
If I can know who are the top competitors in their area, you get an idea of what is their growth pattern, which direction the product goes.
If there is no competitor for that category, I will be very wary. It is tough to create a new market/category and it requires a different investment.
