Some people like the challenge of a start-up environment. New companies often have more opportunities to make an impact with high income potential.
But where do you *find* these startup companies, especially when they are in ‘stealth mode’? The answer is in the portfolios of Venture Capitalists.
VC firms have investors that contribute money to fund new companies, often for a significant return on either stock (if the company goes IPO or is bought) or revenue generated by the product/services the fledgling company is offering. There is a Canadian TV show, the Dragon’s Den , that demonstrates this concept.
The value of looking in the portfolio section is that often, they will show you job openings in the fledgling company, and the companies may not be advertising these jobs elsewhere.
Finding VC companies takes a bit of doing. In Seattle, we are very lucky in that Bridgeway Careers , a career counseling firm, has links to a plethora of local resources. The Bay area has a lot of VC resources as well. But I’ve done a Google Search for ‘Venture Capital’+Newport+RI and come up with a pretty targeted listing.
I have a friend in Florida that is desperately seeking an HR position in her town. I did a quick search and came up with this list:
http://www.itflorida.com/wb2/itfl/itfl_Venture_Capital_Firms
So, make Google your friend. Find out who the VC firms in your area are and then start looking at their portfolios for potential leads.