Wahey wahey wahey

I left MM IB in NYC after my analyst stint to join a Series B startup (non-tech).

1. I found my job through LinkedIn, but found networking (similar to when you tried to get into IB) to be decently effective. There are also some good sites (BuiltIn, Welcome to the Jungle, and some good resources I found on Reddit threads)
2. Vetting the role - wish I had more to say here but outside of the basics like founder / management team background, previous fundraising, existing investor base, etc. you will know if you want to work for someone after picking their brain throughout the interview process

3. Ultimately there are risks involved in this path, so you need to just trust yourself to make a decision here at the end of an interview process. Only you can truly know whether it’s a the right move to make. This is where things differ from your banking days and the more traditional routes in high finance. You most likely won’t have a “class” with peers your age and depending on what type of role you are in, career opportunities are quite open and really up for you to decide what you like and want out of a career. On the compensation front, it really varies here and have seen opportunities for low 6 figures and have anticdonelty scene threads for $200k+ TC, although likely the top % of outcomes post analyst stint. Happy to go deeper on the comp part but based on what your motivation is you can find a variety of ways to get comfortable there

I quit banking for a startup and really like it a lot. 

Responeses to your question:

1 - i lucked out got this startup job. no clue how to re-create this other than make sure you have a good repuation 

2 - its a gut feel. if you cannot judge a job in a startup opportunity quickly by a gut feel, i am not sure you would be fit for a startup. it is not like picking or planning a banking offer or a PE offer or whatever. there is a lot of inherent risk in it that you have to be comfortable with and it is impossible to make a plan in a startup and stick to it, life is too unpredicatble. to be successful as a startup, it largely relies on gut feel and conviction and i do not think someone will succeed in such an environment if they cannot do that personally themselves

3 - just gotta do it. staying in banking or banking 2.0 (big PE fund) is aids so this was an easy decision for me. 

it seems by your post that you are a college student? you need to have a reason to pursue the startup opportunity, whatever that may be personally for you. don't stress or project how much money you will have after 1-2 years of banking, that is futile and meaningless. just live below your means and save some extra money. 

The banking learning curves does slow down after 6-12 months but if you are smart and hardworking you will still learn a ton after that so i wouldnt worry about that.

Why are you interested in startups? that would help a lot answer your question