Author: ronn.kliger@gmail.com

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.

Below is what I’ve been up to over the past week-plus.  I have moved the needle a bit away from educational meetings/talks and more towards engaging with the startup community and actively looking for my next position.

• Two former colleagues
  I had separate meetings with two people who had been at Analog Devices and had left to join local startups.  They both expressed great satisfaction with their career paths and experiences at startups and had a variety of practical advice in transitioning from a big company.  One of these ex-colleagues has set up a meeting for me with his company’s founder for further networking.
• Building efficiency startup
  This call was with the two founders of this early-stage company.  They are operating in a market area where I am experienced and believe I can be of some assistance to them.  We discuss various engagement models and will talk again in April as they get closer to raising funds.
• Mentoring:  MIT Clean Energy Prize
  I met with two members of the team I am mentoring in this competition. We had a very interesting discussion about their go-to-market options and business model.  I found myself enjoying the discussion and helping this team wrestle with the various questions and challenges they are facing.
• Mentoring:  MIT Enterprise Forum
  This is another startup program for which I have volunteered as a mentor.  It is fairly unique in that it is not part of a competition nor requires any affiliation with a university (despite the name).  I met my assigned team yesterday and look forward to working with them.
• MIT Enterprise Forum event
  (Crowd Funding: Where it stands now – “The Power of Alternative Financing for Entrepreneurs”)
  Despite the fact that I think the crowd funding model is primarily applicable only to B-to-C businesses I found it interesting to learn about it as well as the status of new legislation enabling the offering of equity via crowd funding.
•  Presentation at Lyric Semiconductor – Analog Devices
  Gave a presentation today about my experience starting up and growing Analog Devices’ iCoupler business to the Lyric team.  This was something requested by Lyric’s director, Ben Vigoda.  Ben felt that hearing about my iCoupler experience would be useful for his team now that they are part of Analog Devices and are working to get their technology into the market.
• Clean tech angel/advisor
  Had coffee with a very active and connected player in New England’s clean tech community.  He expressed optimism in the long-term promise for clean tech technologies and business.  This person reinforced that the networking and volunteering activities I’ve been doing will lead me down the right path.  He also offered additional suggestions in terms of people, organizations, and resources with whom I should engage.

I don’t have much new to report other than to list the coming week’s events:

• Two meetings with former semiconductor colleagues
• Meeting with a clean tech advisor/investor/entrepreneur
• Meeting with a clean tech entrepreneur
• Meeting with the MIT Clean Energy Prize team I am mentoring
• An Entretech Forum event (Crowd Funding: Where it stands now – “The Power of Alternative Financing for Entrepreneurs”)
• A follow-up call with the building efficiency startup I mentioned in my last post.

(A quick update regarding the two other opportunities I noted last time:  In regards to the software startup I’ve decided to pass as it is far outside my set of experiences.  In regards to the semiconductor supply opportunity I am reserving judgment until after a meeting today with a former colleague who will likely be familiar with this type of business and can comment.) 

A primary purpose of this blog is to communicate my experiences as I transition from a large company to a startup. Towards that end, I’d like to use this post to provide some updates on some things I’ve gotten involved in as well as some new opportunities that have arisen.

Mentoring

As I have previously written, I’ve applied as a mentor to several Boston-area incubator programs.  My thinking is that this provides a great way to get more deeply exposed to the activities and challenges of startups, to meet other entrepreneurs and mentors, to get myself better known in the startup community, and of course, to help one or more startups achieve their goals.

So far I have been accepted as a mentor to one program (MIT Clean Energy Prize) and am waiting to hear from a few others.  Tomorrow I am attending a kick-off dinner for the MIT Clean Energy Prize where I’ll meet the team to which I’ve been assigned.

Education

I am three-quarters of the way through the MIT Enterprise Forum’s Start Smart class.  This is an eight-week class touching on startup basics such as positioning, recruiting, fundraising, pitching, etc.  I’m finding much of the material familiar to me as it seems geared towards people with less business experience than me.  However, I really like the format as each week’s class is taught by a different experienced entrepreneur.  Even though most of the concepts they present is familiar to me, hearing about them through these entrepreneurs’ experiences is something I am finding very educational.  In addition, there is always a long Q&A session after each entrepreneur’s talk which invariably strays into a wide range of startup topics.  Having an experienced entrepreneur do this each week is a great, unique resource.  All in all, I’m glad I signed up for this class.

One Old Opportunity

A recruiter contacted me six weeks ago with a very interesting senior position at a Texas semiconductor startup.  I had noted this earlier but had not written about it since.  I won’t go into further detail other than to note that nothing came of this.  As is typical in these recruiter situations there was no feedback as the recruiter moved on to other candidates he or the hiring person must have judged more suitable.

Some New Opportunities

I’ve suddenly been contacted in recent days regarding three separate, potential opportunities.  This week I’ve had meetings to learn more about them.  The first two are unlikely to be what I am looking for but the third I am finding very interesting:

• A software startup:  an ex-colleague recommended me to a friend who is CEO of a company developing a tool to create animations for PCs, mobile devices, and the web.  This person is seeking business help to obtain funding, develop the strategy, and grow the business.  While I did find his vision interesting, the technology and market are far outside my set of experiences.  I will be meeting this person again but my immediate reaction is that this is not the right opportunity for me.
• A small semiconductor supply company:  another ex-colleague recommended me to a friend who is a long-time equipment supplier to semiconductor wafer fabs.  This person, in turn, has a friend who is seeking someone to run his materials supply company and thought I might be suitable.  This also, is not likely the right opportunity for me as it appears to lack the technology development element that I am seeking.  Nevertheless, I will consider this further before finalizing my views.
• A building power efficiency startup:  the founder of this company contacted me yesterday via LinkedIn as he thought my background would be helpful to his company.  The company has an energy efficiency solution that I found very compelling.  It involves both hardware and software and is closely related to the work I had been doing at Analog Devices.  I am currently reviewing materials this person sent me and will be speaking with him again next week.

That’s it for now.  I hope the above provides some flavor as to what I’ve got going on beyond networking.  It seems like every day brings some kind of unexpected development be it a new avenue to explore, a new person to meet, or a new opportunity to consider.  The days are flying by and are full of interesting encounters and thought-provoking possibilities.  I am enjoying the entire experience.

Well, I’ve spent much of my first week back thinking about the two questions foremost in my mind: whether I want to start my own company or join an existing startup and what technology/market area I want to pursue.

In regards to the first question I could still see myself doing either option. However, as I think about starting my own company I have to admit it excites me more strongly than joining an existing startup. Yes, I’ve already stated that that is my long-term goal and that I would be happy joining an existing startup as a stepping-stone. But over the past few weeks I have thought more and more about just jumping right away to found my own company. I’ll continue to pursue both options but am putting more time into thinking about what my own startup would be about.

That leads right to the second question: what technology/market area do I want to pursue? Earlier, I had written that my plan was to select two technology areas for deeper exploration. I started that this week and quickly discovered that this is not a good approach. I found that exploring a given technology did little to help me decide whether it would be a good area in which to focus my efforts. I pretty much found them all interesting, to be addressing important problems, and to have good potential if certain technical and economic challenges can be overcome. Also, I am keenly aware that a large majority of entrepreneurs (especially the successful ones) operate in technology or market areas that they already know.

Putting all this together I’ve concluded that I need to change course. Instead of exploring technology areas I need to explore problem areas within technologies/markets in which I have good knowledge. This means primarily semiconductors and energy-related devices/systems. There is certainly no shortage of problems to be solved in these areas. The trick will be to find one that I can address in some unique way that the market values. I think it unlikely that I’m going to have some bolt-of-lightning flash of inspiration sitting here on my own. Instead I’m going to start looking up people working in these areas and see what ideas I can drum up.

One last comment: it may appear that I am meandering a bit in my pursuit of a startup. I am! But I’m ok with that for now. I fully expected that this transition would involve ambiguity and changes-of-direction as I strive to determine what I want to do as well and find whatever that is. Sitting here in Month 3 of this journey I am ok with where I’m at. However, if I find myself in Month 9 struggling to find my way I admit I will likely feel uneasy about that!

Coming up this week: a few meetings with ex-colleagues, a local cleantech CEO, a local semiconductor equipment supplier, and an MIT Enterprise Forum event (“Big Ideas, Big Solutions – Solving big problems”).

Just back from a relaxing vacation abroad.  It was especially satisfying as I didn’t have the usual dynamic of wondering what was going on back at work, checking to see if there were any fires, and knowing that upon my return I would be thrust right back into a hectic, office environment and playing catchup. 

So, any brilliant inspirations or insightful realizations while I was gone?  No.  To be honest I didn’t really think much about my future instead simply enjoying myself and being with family that I don’t often see.  This was the vacation that I never took right after leaving my job.

I’m now ready to move ahead and transition my focus away from exploration/education over to finding that right position or business opportunity. 

Activities this coming week:

• Begin my research into technology areas leading to a selection of two for greater focus.
• Meet with a person in a similar situation as mine who has recently left their job seeking to start a company.
• Attend a talk on angel/venture term sheets.
• Attend an event where two startups will give practice pitches and receive feedback.
• Meet with a venture capitalist in the clean energy sector.

Well, the networking continues.  I had conversations with three people over the past few days that have firmed up my thoughts and clarified how I should proceed.  Below is a summary along with an assessment of where I’m at.  In retrospect these conclusions seem somewhat obvious—especially to anybody who has already been involved in startups.  However, I don’t know that I could have reached these conclusions with strong conviction without going through the process that I have.  In any event, the timing is good as this weekend I leave for a two week vacation which will give me a much-needed opportunity to step back, take a break, and re-examine things with a fresh perspective.

The three people with whom I met recently have all been involved in various startups roles including CEO, CTO, COO, VP Product, VP Business Development, and investor.  The topic which I explored most deeply in these conversations was how to go about achieving the goal I’ve established—to be a startup CEO.

There was a high degree of consistency amongst what I heard.  The common view was that I would have a hard time right now getting somebody to hire me as the CEO of an existing startup.  Without regards to what talents I may have the fact is that investors invariably seek somebody who has startup leadership experience when hiring a CEO.  The few exceptions are special cases where specialized knowledge in a particular market area is needed or the job involves a turn-around situation that may not be attractive to experienced startup CEOs.

This leaves me with two options.  The first, of course, is to start my own company and make myself the CEO.  The second option is to first find a position on a startup’s executive team and not be the CEO.  It doesn’t really matter whether this is an early- or late-stage startup as either would offer the learning experiences that I’m seeking.  This would seem to be the more prudent, methodical approach.  However, I have to admit I am intrigued by the notion of jumping right in and starting my own company right away so I am keeping both options open for the moment.  The key, in either case, is to find an idea/technology/position that I feel passionate about.

This leads me to the second topic—that of what technology/market area I want to work in.  As I have previously noted the field in which I have been working, semiconductors, is a pretty mature space without nearly as much investment occurring as with other technologies.  However, it is the space I know best and remain interested in.  Transitioning to other areas is certainly possible and something I am considering. 

I’m going to allow things to “settle” for the next two weeks while I am away.  However, I am thinking that the time has come to focus in on one or two specific technology areas, while keeping open the options of joining an existing startup or founding my own.  To be specific, below are my next steps open returning from vacation:

• Continue to participate in advisory/mentoring opportunities.
• Select two technology areas.  Upon researching a range of options I would focus in on two areas that offer good opportunities and also spark my interest.
• Within my selected areas start looking for startup positions in parallel with exploring the possibility of starting my own company.

That’s it for now.  We’ll see what a two week break does to my thinking…