I have a long history of working in top tech companies but 4 years ago went into the startup world. First I cofounded a web3 crypto company where we had a very successful launch but it went downhill and I left as the other founders ran it into the ground. We had an amazing vision but failed to properly execute and delivery anything out the back end.

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Then I joined another friend in his business - brought a new idea in and we changed the business vision - lots of great concepts but no actual product or revenue - trying to raise money but have not been successful yet. Now I need to go get an actual job and worried I’ll be judged poorly on not being able to be successful.

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Sure its great I tried but I’m nervous I’ll be thought of as unable to execute. I’m sure I’m not the only one that has a history like this. Any advice?

  • StartupSauceRyanBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    A word of advice - don’t bother going through recruiters when applying for jobs. Recruiters are looking for someone who has done the exact same job for a very similar company before. What they’re NOT looking for is a square peg in a round hole - if you took time out of your career to start a company, you’re going to look odd to them, and they’ll move you to the “too hard/don’t bother contacting pile” immediately.

    Instead, reach out to the CEO of the company you’re applying to directly. Tell them you spent the last 4 years building your own startup and made some progress, but ultimately the company didn’t take off. Ah well, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, right? (Use that line)

    And now you’re done with startups and have decided you can have more impact by joining an already successful business and making it grow faster rather than trying to start your own from scratch.

    The big fear that a potential employer is going to have is that you’ll be difficult to manage and eventually leave again to do your own thing. Which is, honestly, totally fair.

    So you want to address that fear head on, and tell them that you’ll commit to a reasonable timeframe (2 years, for example).

    Honesty is the best policy IMO, but you can still spin the story in a way that allayws their fears, overcomes their objections, and makes you look like a massive potential asset to their team rather than a high risk misfit.