Lesson 10
Risk diligence lab: how to test if the company is worth joining
Tangible win: you will leave with a five-point
diligence framework you can use live during or after the interview.
The five checks
| Check | What you need | Bad sign |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shipped product | Clear distinction between live product and roadmap. | Everything sounds “almost ready.” |
| 2. Real usage | Concrete user, customer, transaction, or adoption logic. | Only community or token language. |
| 3. Product focus | A coherent answer about compute vs gaming vs orchestration. | All products are “equally core.” |
| 4. Technical ownership | Clear explanation of who makes architecture and product trade-offs. | No one owns difficult technical decisions. |
| 5. Legal / contract clarity | Entity, engagement model, payment, IP, and terms are understandable. | Compensation sounds attractive but structure is vague. |
How to score the company
After the interview, score each area from 1 to 5:
- 1 = vague, evasive, or hype-only
- 3 = plausible but incomplete
- 5 = concrete, coherent, and confidence-building
What a strong answer sounds like
Strong shipped-product answer
“The compute layer is already live with X capability; ACN-Verse is earlier-stage and we’re validating whether it remains strategic.”
Weak shipped-product answer
“Everything is in motion and we have several exciting products that all support the ecosystem.”
Strong role-clarity answer
“In your first 90 days we’d need you to help on A, B, and C, mainly by coordinating with X and Y.”
Weak role-clarity answer
“We need someone versatile who can wear many hats as we grow.”
Your post-interview worksheet
- What is definitely real today?
- What is still mostly story?
- What is the core business?
- What would my actual job be in month 1?
- What remaining legal or compensation ambiguity still bothers me?
Decision rule
Do not accept the opportunity if the
product-focus score and the
contract-clarity score are both low, even if the
founder is impressive.