[rdl]

Even if a company doesn't have a formal relocation program (it's unlikely a startup would), the founder/hiring manager saying "here's my personal credit card; put all the charges related to your move on it, and I'll expense it for you" relocation plan is probably quite common at a startup; the only provision would be that you have to repay it in a timely fashion if you switch to another job within a year or so. (IMO, if someone gets fired or just doesn't work out, it's pretty pointless to try to collect relocation/education expenses, since he's possibly broke; the case to worry about is relo for job A and then switch to job B at a competitor once you're already here).