I initially reached out to Kixer as I was impressed with their technology. I have a very strong affiliate marketing background. The position I was interested in was similarly related, but more along the lines of digital ad sales.
I initially spoke with one of the founders to express my desire to work for Kixer. The first conversation went well, and over the next few weeks, I had two more phone interviews with a second founder and a VP, as well as a face to face with the third and final founder. All of these conversations went very well and it appeared as though everyone was excited to have me on board.
I received an offer that I believed to be much lower than market value for someone with my background and expertise, however, I was still prepared to accept the offer because I truly believed in the company and where they were heading.
After receiving a formal written offer, I was more than prepared to sign, I had one question which pertained to my commission. My question was along the lines of whether I could use my affiliate background and connections to help drive revenue, and if so, would I receive commission. I would have been completely happy with a "no, absolutely not" and would have forgotten about it and moved on to my main focus of direct publisher digital ad sales, which I had thoroughly prepared for.
However, it seems by asking this question, I somehow changed the minds of the owners into believing that I was not a fit for the position. Within hours of asking the question, I received an email that they no longer thought my affiliate background was a good fit for their goals.
Needless to say, I was extremely discouraged. The interview process from start to finish had taken between 1-2 months. And during this time I was lead to believe that I was going to be joining the team. I feel as though all of this time was wasted.