I got offered an internship with “deferred” payment /u/IAmNot_a_virgin CSCQ protests reddit

I applied for a paid internship through my university career site, and the listing seemed legit. I recently had an offline meeting with the founder of the startup, and here’s where things got weird.

The founder told me about the company and its patents, claiming he’s been working on this product for 8 years. According to him, the company is “close to completion,” and a certain electric car company CEO is set to review their product in 4-5 months. He seems very confident the company will succeed and get acquired or secure funding soon.

Here’s the catch: the internship is on a “deferred payment” plan. Essentially, I would fill out a timesheet, set my own hourly rate, and log my hours. BUT I’d only get paid once the company either:

1. Gets acquired by a big player (e.g., the car company mentioned)

2. Secures funding.

This all sounds very “too good to be true” to me. I’d essentially be working for free now in the hopes that someday I’ll get paid. I get that startups are risky, but this feels like a gamble with my time.

I want to get industry experience, but I’m wary of being taken advantage of. Should I run, or am I being overly cautious? Has anyone dealt with something like this before?

Would love to hear your thoughts or advice!

I applied for a paid internship through my university career site, and the listing seemed legit. I recently had an offline meeting with the founder of the startup, and here’s where things got weird.

The founder told me about the company and its patents, claiming he’s been working on this product for 8 years. According to him, the company is “close to completion,” and a certain electric car company CEO is set to review their product in 4-5 months. He seems very confident the company will succeed and get acquired or secure funding soon.

Here’s the catch: the internship is on a “deferred payment” plan. Essentially, I would fill out a timesheet, set my own hourly rate, and log my hours. BUT I’d only get paid once the company either:

1. Gets acquired by a big player (e.g., the car company mentioned)

2. Secures funding.

This all sounds very “too good to be true” to me. I’d essentially be working for free now in the hopes that someday I’ll get paid. I get that startups are risky, but this feels like a gamble with my time.

I want to get industry experience, but I’m wary of being taken advantage of. Should I run, or am I being overly cautious? Has anyone dealt with something like this before?

Would love to hear your thoughts or advice!