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…