I have received an offer from a firm which is more of a start-up nature. Since they are willing to make a good offer I am a lil' apprehensive of the credibility of the same. I continue to wonder whether they would be punctual in crediting the salary on time. Since I believe in talking things in a forthright manner, I would like to ask the recruiter whether the salaries would be made regularly.
Please suggest how can I clarify my concern with the HR in a polite manner without sounding crude.
Joe has it right. Don't worry about sounding "crude," as you put it.
Just ask. These questions may best be answered by a business person, not an HR person, but that depends on the people. This is business, and startups are risky business. It will help your case in your interview process if you ask questions that show you care about the company's situation.
You can say something like this.
"Please tell me a bit about your company.
"Where are you getting the cash for payroll and other expenses? Please tell me a bit about your investors. How long is it until you need another round of financing?"
You can even ask these questions:
"Who are your competitors? Do you have any key customers lined up? What are the critical success factors in succeeding in your business? What do you expect me, personally, to do to help make the company successful?"
The "what do I need to do?" question is important: it shows you understand that you're a part of the company's success.
Don't be the slightest bit embarrassed to ask these questions. You won't annoy any serious entrepreneur by asking them. Quite the opposite.
If you get evasive answers, especially about the company's investors or financing plans, you need to be very careful about the job.
It is both polite and professional to request a contract before starting work.
You say something like "Great, I'm really excited to work on this project. Before we get started, let's formalise the relationship."
The contract should list:
I've worked for start-ups which haven't paid me on time. Sadly, all you can do is remind them of the contract and let them know you won't be working until you've been properly paid.
If the client is unwilling to sign a formal contract, you have to assume that they can't afford to honour their agreements.
Please suggest how can I clarify my concern with the HR in a polite manner without sounding crude.
You engage in a conversation about the startup that goes something like "Tell me a little about the funding for this company..."
You explore the source of the startup's funding, if additional rounds of funding are planned, and what is the run rate at this time.
Your intent is to get a sense that the startup is well-funded, and well-run, and thus less likely to run into the kinds of problems you fear. (This is as opposed to asking "Will I be paid on time?" which could only elicit a less-than-useful answer of "Certainly.")
You may also choose to talk with one of your potential peers, where you can chat about how well the company is run, and probe a bit about finances and paychecks as well.
Ultimately though, it comes down to a matter of trust. Things can go south quickly in a small company, and you must trust that management will do the right thing. That's one of the risks of joining a startup that you must be willing to accept. Otherwise, a startup probably isn't for you.
My own take elaborating on Joe Strazzere and O. Jones' answers. This requires a conversation where you get answers as to the company's funding, runway and progress towards the market and sales revenue.
Key factors for startups are runway (how many months they've got funding for) and sales (which helps towards profitability, and/or enables further funding rounds).
It's a very reasonable area to ask about, since every investor will. Any business should be able to give you clear answers to high-level questions in this area.
Note that their answers may be anything from realistic, to possible, to overstated, to wildly unrealistic, to incompetent or fraudulent. You should try and quietly assess for yourself the quality of their product, plans & organization.
Some questions I would ask:
"Please tell me a bit more about your company.
"How are you funded for payroll and operating expenses? Please tell me a bit about your investors. How long is it until you need another round of financing?"
"Why do you believe your product is compelling?"
"Where are you in the go-to-market plan? Have you found a good product-market fit? When do you expect to reach profitability?" listening for whether they have customers & sales yet
"How long is your runway to launch this product?"
"What are the critical factors for the business to succeed? How can I help?"
Personally I would not recommend to dig directly for details of customers and competitors, this seems perhaps a tiny bit commercially sensitive. I would try and assess and understand the value & marketability of their proposed product, and their capability to build and market it successfully.
Assuming the business proposition is somewhat plausible, the normal failure cause is for funding to run out before product-market fit can be found or profitability can be reached. These questions are designed to help you answer that.
