I was connected by my college professor who was contacted by an alumn working at Addepar. After some contemplation, I decided to fallow up with an email to my portfolio website, a cover letter, and resume. Within a week we set up a phone interview, as I was in Ohio, and Addepar is in Mountain View, California. I spoke on the phone with said alumn for about an hour. Very relaxed conversation. Spent maybe 20 minutes discussing Addepar – what they're doing, why, the work culture, space, and so on. Then spoke about my exposure to startups (minimal), an experience on my resume, and my goals as a designer. We finished the conversation after looking at a project or two in my portfolio briefly. By the end, I was told that I would be flown out for a formal interview. Two weeks later I arrived at Addepar, sticking out like a sore thumb in what I thought was business casual dress. Everyone else looked much more comfortable. I watched a product design critique, took a tour of the office, ate lunch with the team before starting any interviews. This was a great way to get comfortable. I had a total of three interviews. My first was at the company's favorite coffee spot with the department head. I detailed the projects in my portfolio and discussed my exposure to tech companies and where I saw myself as a designer. My second interview was with the person whom I spoke on the phone with. We looked at my tangible pieces and talked about being a designer in-house versus at a consultancy. We also talked about what I could contribute / where I would fit in with the team. My last interview was with a UI designer. As he was less familiar with a traditional graphic design background, we talked about my work in much more detail. He asked me to explain decisions and comment from a user's perspective. He questioned some details that other people have either not noticed or cared to discuss. I stumbled a couple times, but for the most part, this was the kind of interview I was expecting all day, and tried to prepare for. Later, we went out to a startup event for dinner and beers and stayed out for the night. I received a formal offer about a week later and accepted quickly.