So You Want to Work for a Startup

Profitability should be in the first set of items, imo.

Don't leave potential or existing employees worried about your exit strategy. Enthusiasm wanes when they think you will jump-ship and leave them hanging to dry.

In this day and age, don't just talk about when you'll be profitable, but show them your existing numbers and related trends (with backing data) in your own business vs. competitors or industry along with the data used to estimate revenue breakeven and profitability dates and numbers. If you can't convince your future and current employees, how can you convince anyone else?

Work-life balance - everyone likes a 40 hour week, but if you can't provide that, then at least focus on your ability to let them take time out for their family when needed. If you can't do that, expect morale to drop or life issues to come into play later.

Culture - The fun/work balance and the things you aren't allowed to talk about legally: politics, age, etc. Do you really focus on getting the work done? Do people have patience for your attempts at team-building at that remote mountain location with the mosquitoes or are they into the annual paintball game? Will they hate their Republican or Democrat team members? Are they allergic to cats, dogs? Does the smell of curry make them barf? How do you approach this?

Moving up the ladder: Where do you want to be in 5 years? What about raises, bonuses, etc.? On the other hand, how accountable are people for their actions? How many sales guys have you let go this year because they didn't hit your numbers?

Many more things to think about...