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I've recently accepted an internship offer from a <10 people startup. My point of contact in the company is CTO and he did everything from the interview, to offering the job.

The problem is since the company is in different city, I've not yet visited the office or met any of the future co-worker.

So I am wondering if I should reach the founder and introduce myself or it will be okay if I do after I join. It's my first real world experience so I don't have any clue what to do in such situations.

If I choose to introduce myself, I don't know what to say either. "Hey I am x and I am hired there and I will be joining next month". He already knows that :/.

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  • I think reaching out to a founder prior to starting work would be awkward. What is the purpose? If you ran into them by chance then yes "I would like to introduce myself - I am starting with you company in a few weeks".
    – paparazzo
    Aug 8, 2016 at 22:52
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    "Primarily opinion based" close votes? Really? This is a question about workplace etiquette that seems very answerable, and useful.
    – user45590
    Aug 9, 2016 at 7:27
  • @Paparazzi I don't have any at all. I was just wondering if it is something that everyone does, but I am not doing it
    – Franklin Heck
    Aug 9, 2016 at 9:51
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    Given that its a start-up and a fairly small one at that. I think you will be introduced to the boss in due time. Going over CTO's head direct to the CEO might be misconstrued. Have you been given any advice on what to prepare? depending on what you will be doing your best option might be to contact the CTO and ask if there is anything else he wants you to get started on
    – Lukadadiani
    Aug 9, 2016 at 16:18

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Indeed... upon arrival, you can fully expect that "the person who hired you" will make it a point to greet you! Then, it is entirely probable that s/he will quickly introduce you to the remaining "9" people and that all of them will courteously strive to make you feel at home. (Quite likely, they'll take you out to lunch.)

Congratulations!

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You can and should introduce yourself after arriving in person.

It is normal to meet the team you will work with when starting a job (whether an internship or fulltime). At a company that small you likely will meet all the employees of the company.

The main reason to not email the CEO is that most CEOs of startups are pretty busy and you have nothing to say, most likely. If you do feel the need to email (which I would not recommend), an email clearly not requiring work is ideal - something like, "Hi, just wanted to touch base - I'm excited to work for XX and look forward to meeting you!" is far better than something which will take a lot of the CEO's time.

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    I wouldn't even do that. Frankly it would look insincere and most likely be taken as sucking up to the CEO, which it basically is. OP should wait until he's introduced as he indeed has nothing to say.
    – Lilienthal ♦
    Aug 9, 2016 at 7:35
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    @Lilienthal good point, I edited to make that more clear.
    – enderland
    Aug 9, 2016 at 13:48
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I think it would be very reasonable to reach out with a quick introduction / thank you / display of eagerness. However only you can answer the question of "What do I want to get out of this communication?"

If you have next to nothing to say ("Hi. I'm new. Sincerely, Franklin") or too much to say ("Hi. I'm new. I think you're awesome. Here's 10 paragraphs of stuff that makes no sense for an intern to send to the CEO"), don't send the email.

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Introducing yourself before actually getting there in person would most likely result in an awkward conversation.

Keep in mind that this is a a <10 people startup, so once you get there, you should be able to meet everyone very fast. The CTO should have also notified the workers that "a new guy" is arriving.

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This being <'current year'>, I would suggest sending a Linkedin invitation to your new CEO, and mentioning in the invitation that you are looking forward to meeting them.

I would not suggest otherwise approaching him or her personally before arriving on their doorstep.

By the way, if you are the paranoid sort, there is always a small chance that the CEO is unaware that you were hired, did not approve it, and she or he will cancel your appointment. Less likely when your presence is a fait accompli. Sounds silly, but I've seen this (and rather worse) in startups.

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