There are lots of ways of finding target companies… here’s one that might make sense for you.
Google your town/state and “Venture Capital” or “Venture Fund.” You are looking for local venture capital websites. Venture capitalists are the people who help fund companies, whether they are startups, or larger companies who need some money. You can think of them as an alternative to the bank.
Dealing with VCs isnt’ fun. I have yet to find a VC who doesn’t think he is god. I say he because I personally don’t know any women who are VCs. If you don’t like dealing with people who think they are god (I don’t), then this post is quite important (because you aren’t going to deal with them, unless you are at a very senior level).
Collect a list of VC firms in your area (OF COURSE you’ll put them into JibberJobber). Then, look on their website for their Portfolio (that is, the list of companies they have funded). Here’s a screen capture from a company that is local to me:
Drill down on any of the categories and you’ll have a list you can filter through… these can become your target companies in your job search.
Why?
Because they have some level of funding (this is good, so you can get paid), and because a VC firm is behind them they usually have other perks (insurance, vacation, etc.). They are also on some kind of fast-track to success, hopefully (doesn’t mean they will be successful), and are probably looking at some kind of big win for the investors (VCs) – this could mean they are acquired, go IPO, etc. It would be a fun ride, and you might be able to cash in on stock when that time happens.
This isn’t for everyone, especially the people who are looking for job security in big companies like GE, Ford, Enron….
But it’s a great way to look for local companies you may not have heard of but should be on your list. Once you find these companies you can try and network in through the VC (good luck), or you can go around the VC firm and network directly into the company through the company employees.
Sound like a good idea?
A great place to start your search for startup jobs – VentureLoop. They have a job board that has listings for the portfolio companies of many top VC firms here: https://www.ventureloop.com/ventureloop/job_search.php
There are also a number of sites that cater the the startup industry, such as https://younoodle.com.
Two job boards specifically aimed at startups: https://startuply.com and https://startupers.com
There are also several startup-oriented groups on LinkedIn – “On Startups” and “Startup Specialists” are two examples.
This is an excellent idea. The firms Venture Capitalist fund have been vetted and scheduled to accomplish their goals within a small time frame. These firms want to succeed to get to the next round of funding and growth!
Excellent opportunities and information are available on the web!
Nice post! Often the companies you find from these queries have enough money to post their jobs on their Websites. But, even if they don’t, there is usually contact information and an idea of the kinds of jobs they do have. Then you go to LinkedIn, and you’re all set.
SO good to target the employer rather than just reacting to what is available on job boards. Other searches I’ve used to find employers are:
* “best employers” +city (include the quotes, and no space AFTER the “+” sign)
* “best employers” +state (same rules as above)
* “fastest growing” +state (or city) << these can be challenging but fun
* companies +city
* companies +state
* “new construction” +state (or city)
* expansion +state (or city)
Setting these up as Google Alerts works well.
Or, just visit the Job-Hunt.org page for your state, and find the results of all the research I’ve already done. 🙂