FounderMail 10th Edition: How to Navigate a Career Transition
đ Hey there! Iâm Ilan. This is FounderMail, your monthly dose of startup insights that helps founders hire top talent, raise capital, and stay informed. Pivot like a pro. Ready? Letâs go!
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Unstacked Startups is building a community of tech founders, early employees, leaders, and VCs uncovering the 'secret sauce' to startup growth. We want to share the insights with you through real conversations on our podcast (subscribe on YouTube or Spotify) live events, and our newsletter FounderMail.
In This Edition:
Shower Thoughts: Post-Founder Feelings
Whatâs Got Our Attention
Unstacked Podcast: Karia Samaroo
The MVP Play with George Sivulka, Founder & CEO of Hebbia
Unstacked Perspectives: Career Transitions
Shower Thoughts
Soak up insights from our networkâs top investors, founders and tech influencers.
âYou donât just Google âWhat should I do after leaving the company I built?â - Sasha Oloff, Founder of LendUp
Actually, we did and the results were primarily focused on the act of leaving itselfânot to mention, they were mostly negative. But that doesnât have to be the case! So, whatâs the next step? Hereâs what we think you should do based on what weâve seen from founders:
Join a startup as #2: Youâll face all the same challenges but from a different vantage point.
Coach the next generation of founders as an Expert-in-Residence or Investor: Youâve clearly learned a lot, so why not share that knowledge?
âFoundâ again: Do it all over! Some people are just born to be serial entrepreneurs.
TL;DR: Founders, life after a startup can be a major career shift, but it doesn't have to be daunting. You have options. Embrace the unknowns and stay optimistic!
Whatâs Got Our Attention
The latest startup news and research you canât afford to miss.
Pivoting to a billion-dollar idea: Lessons from Clipboard Health founder Wei Deng
There is no right path, just the right path for you, says co-founder and CTO of Generate:Biomedicines
Unstacked Startups Podcast Recap
Check out our favorite insights from a recent episode of the Unstacked Startups Podcast. Every episode, Unstacked host, Ilan Saks, chats with startup founders, early employees, leaders, and VCs to uncover the 'secret sauce' of startup growth.
Karia Samaroo
Karia Samaroo has transitioned from big law and securities and oil and gas to executive leadership, to founding tech companies, to sitting on the boards of companies and advising entrepreneurs.
Leaving something you don't like and something that's not fulfilling you creates a space for you to explore and find things that do. Karia, Co-founder of WonderFi, shares his advice on transitions in the latest episode:
Key Lessons
Donât get stuck: The next move doesnât need to be a forever move, or a perfect move. It just needs to be a step in the right direction.
Follow your passion: The best move or the best way to come through a transition is to follow your passion. Use it to guide your direction.
It takes patience: Exploration stages can be challenging because they don't have the quantitative markers that other parts of our career do.
Itâs about questioning yourself: What gets you excited? What brings your energy up? If there were no limits, what would you be doing?
The MVP Play
Unlocking the playbooks of startup MVPs, one question at a time.
Checking into the game? For this edition, we chatted with George Sivulka, Co-Founder & CEO of Hebbia.
MOTIVATION
Why are you building Hebbia and whatâs the driving force behind your willingness to endure the challenges of founding a startup?Â
I believe at my core that I am building the single most important software product of the next century.
AI is the most important technology of our lifetime, but technology alone doesn't make an important product. Chat is the earliest iteration of this technologyâ but going forward humans and AI should have more than a transactional back and forth relationship. Hebbia is building a product for humans and AI to work together. That gets me up in the morning.
VENTURE
What advice do you have for founders to ensure a good fit between them and potential VC partners?Â
Listen to your gut. The way you feel about a potential investor as a human being is far more important than firm, brand, partner, or any term in a term sheet.
PEOPLE
How do you identify truly bar-raising talent?
Hebbia lives and hires by our values. We have a high bar for communication, hard work, character, and self improvement. These come above experience.
We look for candidates ready to do the best work of their careers even if they have to learn on the jobâand folks who are passionate about a chance to be part of something bigger than themselves.
The PLAY
Unstackedâs cheat code for early stage founders.
Our MVP George, founder of Hebbia, says they look for candidates ready to do the best work of their careers even if they have to learn on the job.
We think learning on the fly is a critical component to navigating a career transition, whether starting a new company, or joining one. Speak to friends, family, mentors, and colleagues. Go for coffee, and be proactive to spur opportunities and bring clarity as you determine what is next.
Unstacked Perspectives
Unstacked host, Ilan Saks, is on a mission to basically give everyone a Harvard MBA, one lesson at a time.
Mastering Career Transitions: Are You Primed to Succeed?
Navigating career transitions can be challenging, but with the right approach, they can also lead to tremendous growth and fulfillment. Our latest blog, "Career Transitions: Navigating Change with Confidence," explores how to handle both planned and unexpected changes in your professional life.
Read more to develop a long-term framework and strategies to stay adaptable in a changing world.
How We Can Help You Grow Your Startup
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Raising Capital? Drop us a line, weâd love to discuss what youâre building and how we can help.
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