Arena Partners

Would you rather have the right job at the wrong company, or the wrong job at the right company? ?I’ll take the wrong job at the right company every time. Recently, I’ve seen and talked to quite a few people who are caught up in various layoffs and RIFs. Normally when someone gets laid off, they dust off their resume, make sure their LinkedIn profile is updated, check the job boards, apply to a bunch of different places, reach out to friends and colleagues to “keep their eyes open for any opportunities.” It can take time and be agonizingly slow.? If you find yourself in this position where it feels like there’s just nothing out there as you wait for responses to applications and resumes, try this instead: --> Pick 5 companies.? Five companies that you like and want to work for. If any of these companies offered you a job, you wouldn’t really care what the role was, you just want to work for that company. Maybe you like the location, the people and the reputation that they have, maybe you like their vision or purpose, maybe the prestige or something else. But rather than a company choosing you, which company would you choose? Once you have that list of five, start figuring out how to get in. They likely have external job postings. Obviously you should familiarize yourself with those. Who do you know at the company? It’s time to check out those 2nd and 3rd degree connections on LinkedIn. What else can you find to get your foot in the door and a conversation started? Get creative. How can you get a conversation started? ----- Years ago I was having a hard time finding my next gig. I found a company that I really liked and a particular VP who had a bio that looked really interesting. We had several similar touch points and things in common but had never met. I planned to call her office number at 9pm one night and leave a well rehearsed message politely introducing myself with what I thought were enough reasons to justify a return call and conversation. As the phone rang a little after 9pm and I prepared to give my well rehearsed speech, she answered the phone. Although I had all the right words, I was so thrown that she was in the office and answered that I barely made it through what I wanted to say. We talked for 10 minutes and I had an interview a few days later. I didn’t end up working for that company but actually got to know that VP fairly well over the following years. She commented on how nice it was to actually have someone self select because they really wanted to work at that company, rather than digging through a pile of resumes. ----- In today’s world of AI resume screeners and resume writers, the noise level has gone way up and standing out isn’t nearly as easy as it once was. So pick where you would want to work and pursue it. Focus on picking the company and not necessarily the job as your primary criteria.?The role is far easier to change than the company that you’re working for. Arena Partners #Layoffs

One of the great business ironies…. Start-ups worry about being crushed by corporate giants. Giants worry about disruption from innovative start-ups. The grass is never as green on the other side as you think it is. Simply embrace your situation. ---------- ? Repost to share with your network ? Follow me for insights ?? No artificial ingredients #ceo #ceos #ceosuccess #ceoinsights

Those are some kind words from someone who is getting pretty good at the startup game (check out OpenRep to see for. yourself). There are so many first time aspects from fund raising, board meetings, co-founders, bridge notes, etc that it's nice to get some help here and there. At Arena Partners we're just trying to make that a little bit easier. To your success!

Kyle has a great opportunity here. I love pitching and hearing pitches. Maybe I'm a little strange, but it's just a blast for me to take a story and craft it into a convincing argument. If you're looking at pitching to investors, make sure you pitch to your friends, family and anyone that's willing to listen before you start with the "real" audience. I've pitched hundreds of times and it still takes me a half a dozen times to get the right cadence, jokes, examples, answers and everything else that you need to flow just the right way. If you're looking for someone to act as a sounding board, give us a ring at Arena Partners

My colleagues at Arena Partners and I had a great time last week helping my good friend Kyle Harrison refine his Seed pitch for his exciting?new venture Conversant before he hits the fundraising trail later this month. Every entrepreneur has a different journey and zone of genius.?It's so enjoyable seeing it on display, while also sharing some fundraising advice after decades in the trenches.?A super fun session. If you'd like my colleagues and I to review your pitch deck, shoot me a DM and we'll see what we can do. Happy fundraising!