Month: April 2013

Lately, I’ve written about progress in regards to specific companies and positions.  In this post I want to convey a sense of where I’m at and how I got here as this may be helpful to others considering a career transition similar to mine.  Below I provide a snapshot of where I’m at in terms of the quantity and type of opportunities, the various paths that have led me to these, and a few conclusions I’ve come to regarding the whole networking process.

Where I am at

Sitting here at the end of April I have made contact with a total of ten startups of interest to me.  In speaking with their CEO’s and/or investors I’ve learned that six of these are likely to expand their leadership team within the next six months to include a position relevant to my interests and capabilities. The precise nature of these positions are not all yet clear but they encompass VP-level marketing, business development, product development, and operations types of roles.  So far, I have had detailed conversations with the principals of only one company.  With the rest I either have meetings scheduled in the next few weeks or am waiting for certain milestones (financing, prototype completion, etc.) to be reach before they are ready to engage with me.

Below is some additional information about these six startups:

• Three are located in the Boston area while three are elsewhere in the U.S.
• All but one are involved with semiconductor technology while the sixth has an energy efficiency focus.
• One startup is at the seed stage, three have Series A funding, and two have Series B or later funding.

Networking activity

The path to finding these startups was been quite varied.  In general, since leaving my former company I have spoken to a wide variety of people.  I also have received a few unsolicited inquiries.  Below is a summary of this activity in decreasing order of value to me:

• Angel and VC investors:  8
• Entrepreneurs:  20
• Former colleagues:  13
• Other acquaintances:  4
• University contacts:  3
• Recruiters:  5

The above is an admittedly subjective ranking but there is no question that the two most valuable types of interactions have been with investors and entrepreneurs.  This is no great revelation but what I got out of my conversations with these two categories of people has been quite different. Generally speaking, the entrepreneurs have provided the greatest educational value helping me learn what life at startups are like, what types of roles would be most suitable for me, and many other bits of information that have helped me better understand what I am seeking.  The investors, on the other hand, have been most helpful in identifying specific companies that may be in need of someone like me.

As I examine the paths that have led me to my current focus set of six startups they look like this:

• Via investors:  3
• Via entrepreneurs:  1
• Unsolicited contact via LinkedIn:  1
• Via former colleague:  1

Lessons learned

It is too early to know whether my next position will be among these six startups.  That may end up being the case although I continue to reach out to new contacts to see what else may be out there.

Having said that, I am able to draw a few conclusions relative to the four months of networking I’ve been doing.  First of all, it’s clear that one can never do too much networking and that it is unpredictable whether a given engagement will be of value or not.  I’ve found that some meetings I’ve highly anticipated turned out to be duds while others I was not so enthusiastic about yielded important learnings or valuable referrals.  Just as an example, the manner by which I made contact with the CEO of one of my “focus” startups was quite convoluted:  former colleague -> former entrepreneur -> venture capitalist -> second venture capitalist -> startup CEO.

Second, I’ve learned that my own personal networking style is via personal introductions as contrasted with meeting people ad hoc at conferences and other events.  This may be reflective of my own personality as I’ve never been much of a “schmoozer”.  But I’ve found it rare that I make a connection at a networking event that leads to anything fruitful relative to my search.

Lastly, I’ve gained an appreciation as to how time consuming this whole process is.  I’m often asked why I left my previous position before finding my next one.  I had been doing a bit of networking last year while still at Analog Devices but quickly realized I was not being effective.  I had the double challenge of figuring out what I wanted to do as well as finding the right situation and I was not able to articulate to people what I was looking for.  Furthermore, I had a demanding job involving much travel which made networking difficult.  Fortunately, I was in a position where I could leave my job and devote myself full-time to finding my next one.  I recognize not everybody has this luxury nor may it be necessary in all situations. 

In any event, I’m pressing ahead with the leads I have.  Up ahead this week:  two lunches with ex-colleagues, three meetings with startup CEOs, two meetings with VCs, two meetings with the startups I’m mentoring, and two Capital Network learning events.  So much for the slowing down I wrote about a few weeks ago…

It looks like my focus on investors is starting to bear fruit.  I’ve met with several angels and venture capitalists over the past month and have been somewhat surprised at the amount of interest they’ve showed in my background.  In previous meetings with entrepreneurs and others a brief summary of my background has sufficed to introduce myself and my motivation.  But in these more recent meetings the conversations have gone much deeper.  It’s clear that these investors are assessing my experience and credibility.   In my most recent meeting the conversation almost took on the tone of a job interview as the VC asked my opinions on various strategic matters one of his portfolio companies was dealing with and several “how would you handle this?” topics.

This is all good as coming out of these meetings are referrals to other investors or principals at several startups.  It’s still too early to judge whether these will lead directly to my next position but I am definitely getting myself on people’s radar and it feels that the continuation of this process will eventually lead to a match between a company that needs my capabilities and my own interests and desires.

I will not post specifics such as with whom I am meeting or what companies are involved but will try to convey enough information about these encounters so that those reading this blog will get a sense of my progress.

I would also like to make note of one other set of activity.  I recently, via my networking, have obtained introductions to people working at the technology transfer/licensing offices at MIT and Boston University.  This offers the potential to get connected with technologists looking to commercialize their work.  If this does yield something of interest it would lead down a different path than my investor networking would as it would lead me to starting my own company as opposed to joining an existing one.  I remain open to either possibility.

Things have slowed down for me in April compared to what I had experienced the first three months of the year.  I am attending fewer entrepreneurship events, have exhausted the low hanging fruit of my network, and am starting to be more selective as to the events I attend and the people I reach out to.   (Just this past month in the Boston area there were three events on crowdsourcing, two on pitching investors, and two on building a team so one definitely hits a point of diminishing returns!)   Bottom line, my days are less busy than they had been earlier this year.

This isn’t necessarily a problem although I admit to sometimes feeling like I’m “wasting” a day if I don’t have something scheduled.  But I think it’s ok. As noted last week, I’ve sharpened my focus to talking to investors.  The whole process of identifying the right ones, making contact, scheduling meetings, and following up on whatever emerges happens at a slower pace than my interactions with entrepreneurs and advisors.  And yet the investor discussions I’m having seem more productive in terms of actually getting me closer to finding interesting startups in need of what I have to offer.

The analogy I draw is that of swimmers.  The casual, unskilled swimmer exerts a lot of energy thrashing his arms and kicking his legs while not actually progressing very quickly through the water.  In contrast, the serious, skilled swimmer moves his limbs more slowly and deliberately but efficiently cuts through the water at a much faster pace.  I’d like to think that the progress I am making is more akin to the latter than the former.  Having said that, I need to remind myself that the priority is to find the right position rather than find one quickly.

With all that said, below is a summary of what I’ve been up to since the start of April:

• Venture capitalist
  Met with the founder of a local venture firm.  We discussed my background and his views about clean tech.  He offered to introduce me to two separate entrepreneurs who might have a need for someone like me.  I’ve since had a call with one of these entrepreneurs and will be meeting him in person later this month.  The second introduction is still pending. 
• Mentoring session:  MIT Enterprise Forum
  Had my second meeting with my team.  The fit is not great as this team’s product is a B-to-C health supplement.  However, I’m finding that a large amount of my B-to-B semiconductor experience is applicable as many fundamental marketing concepts such as defining the target market, understanding user needs/alternatives, establishing market channels, etc. are applicable.
• Former colleague
  Met a former colleague who has also left Analog Devices within the last year.  This is a younger engineer who is interested to start his own company.  He had a few ideas he wanted to bounce off me which made for interesting conversation.
•  Acquaintance involved in startups
  Met someone I used to play soccer with who has held CFO/COO positions at several IT startups and is now considering founding one with a technologist he is working with.  We didn’t find much common ground to build upon but it was good to catch up with him and learn what we each are up to.
• Boston Entrepreneurs’ Network event
  (Winning Investors with your Pitch and Presentation)
• The Capital Network expert lunch
  (Understanding the Dilution Impact of Early Stage Investment)
  This was one of a series of educational events focusing on startup finance topics.  This particular event went into great detail about startup capitalization and various associated issues.

As I’ve shifting my focus lately from learning about startups to seeking out my next position I’ve also placed a greater emphasis on meeting active investors—both angels and venture capitalists.  I’ve met several over the past two weeks and have found them more open to conversation than I expected.  My thinking had been that these people are constantly being chased by entrepreneurs and that it would be difficult to get their time and get them interested in my situation.  However, I am finding that this is not the case.

I’m not sure why this is exactly.  It may that entrepreneurs are on a constant search for funding while investors are on a constant search for talent.  It may be that I’m getting strong introductions from my network that are opening doors.  Or it may simply be that I’ve been fortunate so far and have met investors that are unusually open.  In any event, the individuals I’ve met seem interested in my background and experience and I’m finding these interactions very valuable.

Unlike individual entrepreneurs, these investors have visibility into a range of startups at various stages of development.  In some cases, they have been able to suggest specific companies and founders for me to talk to.  In other cases, they have referred me to other investors.  In any event, I’ve concluded that that expanding my network to include as many investors as possible can only help—if not immediately then over time as new needs emerge in companies they are involved in or new companies enter their portfolios.