The idea of taking a new job at a fresh Silicon Valley start-up can be appealing for many people, especially to the generation that’s just now entering the work force. However, horror stories, like the one provided by WrkRiot, urge me to encourage everyone looking to make it big with a start-up to do their due diligence before signing up. WrkRiot, as The New York Times reports, is a drastic example of a start-up gone wrong. The company aimed to be the new Indeed.com, but ended up losing enough money that the business had to borrow money from employees to provide paychecks. While WrkRiot provides a pretty severe example of Silicon Valley failure, it’s my understanding that this kind of failure is not entirely uncommon in start-up culture. Just like with any organization, it’s important to make sure you do your homework before joining a company, even one that’s quite new, to make sure you’re not stepping into a rat’s nest.
Image: Penny Kim, a former WrkRiot employee who helped to bring many of the company's issues to light. Credit: Anthony Chiang via NYT