Aug
12

4 Strategies to Immerse Yourself into the Boston Startup Scene

burst bubble(Note: This post originally was written for the BostInnovation blog and re-posted here as part of my blogging portfolio.)

From the outside looking in, you may think getting a job at a startup is like getting a job at any other company – Starbucks, Staples, Macy’s, etc. I hate to burst that belief, but it’s a bit tougher than just filling out an application, having a formal interview, and hoping to get chosen among the multitude of applicants.

Getting into the start up scene is about who you know and how much you are willing to give to make a company succeed. Being in Boston adds another unique layer to this; we are a very tight-knit community. Although Boston is a relatively big city and it may seem like a large pool of companies and candidates, we all talk. Why? Because we all are on social media or go to events regularly!

Coming from a small town in Connecticut myself, I had to learn the hard way that getting involved in the startup scene in Boston was no easy task. However, it was the best journey I’ve ever been on. Being here a year and a half now, I want to share with you how you can go about getting a job in an awesome start up in Boston without wasting time.

1. Network – work the scene

networkign bostonDue to our tight-knit community, we all tend to navigate towards the same type of events. I find myself saying “Long time no see!” in a sarcastic manner to many people who attend the same events as I do. We all know the right events to go to, whether a casual beer and networking event or a knowledge-based event. Start attending events, talking to various people about the events they attend, look for patterns, and deepen your network.

This will allow you to become recognized in the area and allow you to learn from this group and get the ‘in’ on potential job openings.

2. Get involved on social media

Let’s face it – Boston is full of nerds. It is also full of social media enthusiasts – and we’re a bit proud of it.  I highly suggest you create Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and even YouTube accounts and start interacting with influencers in Boston.

You can find these influencers by noticing how many followers they have, how much they engage with others and by catching them in person at events. By following conversations and talking with other people in Boston, you will build up recognition of your skills and interests.

3. Create your own personal brand

personal brandingJust like any consumer brand, it is important to distinguish yourself in the market. Making yourself both memorable and visible is crucial today. Chances are, if you are being interviewed for a job, the employer is Googling you to view your personal brand and digital footprint.

I highly recommend starting a personal website or blog that demonstrates what you are interested in, your past experience, and anything else career-related you want others to see.

For me, I blogged about digital marketing, posted videos on how to brand yourself online, and posted my video resume. On top of that, build out social sites like Twitter and LinkedIn demonstrating the same information on your site to create consistency.

People will come to expect certain content from you and will know where to get it. This is crucial when you are on the job hunt. Being visible and helpful online can go a long way.

4. Be yourself

It is important to first and foremost act like the same person whether online or in person. Your personal brand online should reflect who you really are. If you are a fun, bubbly person, write in a conversational, easy-going tone. That way, no matter which way a person is communicating with you, they know it is truly you.

At the end of the day, it is who and what you know that can get you into the Boston startup scene. Networking properly and demonstrating your expertise both online and offline are critical to getting seen and remembered by potential employers.

Most of us at BostInnovation have done these above four things to get jobs at really awesome companies and involved with this blog. Ask any of us, it was more than worth it!

Aug
07

Why it Pays to be a Go-Giver, Not a Go-Getter

Last week, I was meeting with a few of my networking contacts, discussing the way in which we all like to network and what we are looking to get out of it. I told them, “I love to learn about the new, exciting things other are doing and seeing if I can help them out in any way. I genuinely like to help others and make great ideas succeed.” One person pointed out after I elaborated more on this point that I’m a go-giver, not a go-getter.

A light *sparked* in my mind.

People always tell you to be a go-getter. You never really hear the term go-giver. However, I stopped and thought about this – and continued thinking about it all the way home. If you’re like me, you would rather see others happy and successful than seeking out that happiness and success for yourself first. You thoroughly enjoy asking people, “How can I help you?” (and not in the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-up line manner).

gift givingI’ve started realizing through my proceeding conversations and actions that being a go-giver is a respected, endearing and selfless thing you can do that can benefit both parties if done right.

Especially in the Boston start-up scene, there are many, many hard-working people spending their days and nights and last few dollars trying to grow their startup. When they are asked if they need help, this is like spotting gold. Entrepreneurs are full of ideas and spark, but they need more minds and man hours to make the idea happen.

While I know I’ve told many more people I’d love to help them than what’s been reciprocated back to me, I’m actually quite content with that. To date, I am an advisor for four awesome startups in the Boston area, contribute blog posts weekly to BostInnovation and am about to start a non-profit website to help homeless animals. Not in any one of these circumstances am I ask for anything in return. I am genuinely interested in helping these ideas grow for the pure sake of seeing them succeed.

To revert back to my original conversation of a go-getter vs. a go-giver, I was also reminded that go-getters may still become extremely successful and wealthy, but all they have done is helped themselves. They probably have said “no” to many people who asked for their help or advice for the pure reason that they were devoting 110% of their time on their own endeavors. While there is nothing ethically wrong with this, I find it good business to help and then be helped.

This is why I truly enjoy helping and giving – and this will never stop.

The reason I felt the need to write about this is because I want each and every person who reads this to stop for a second and identify which one, a go-getter or go-giver, you are, and if you are content with that.

Have you asked to help another out in the past month? Have you given selflessly to a cause without pay or proper reward? Do you seek experience helping others for the sake of even just learning, if not monetary gain?

I ask you to try being a go-giver for a week. Attend networking events, identify one or two people who have great ideas you are passionate about and see where you can be of assistance – even if all they need is access to you to bounce ideas off of. How about contribute an expert guest blog post to a start up that could use your help? Why not stay a few hours extra at work just because you truly care and want to get things done? You may find that it’s even more rewarding than money. I do.

Enough from me - I’d love to hear your stories. Are you a go-giver? If so, what are some things you’ve done selflessly to help others and had a successful outcome? If you are not a go-giver, what are some things that would inspire you to become one? And also, I always encourage others to counteract my ideas if you feel strongly otherwise.

Jun
13

“How Do I Get Involved in a Startup Company?”

get involved in startupTwo years ago, I never really knew what a ‘startup company’ was. Being from a small town in northern Connecticut, all I knew about were the large insurance corporations and chain restaurants and clothing stores. (Truth be told, it wasn’t surprising I didn’t know of any startups, as there are not that many in Connecticut). As of today, I’ve been working for a startup, Backupify, for 14 months. Did I ever see this coming? Absolutely not. Am I glad I’m here? Absolutely!

Many friends have approached me asking the exact question proposed in the title of this blog post. “So, how do I get a job at a start up company?” Truth be told, it is tough if you don’t know the right people. It took me a few months to carefully network and feel out the startup culture.

When people tell you it’s all about who you know, they are right. When a small company like a startup is looking to hire, they are very reliant on referrals and recommendations of good hires as they cannot risk making a wrongful hire.

In short, below I’ve answered the most common questions I’ve been asked regarding getting into a startup:

How do you know who to contact?

First, determine what it is you’re looking to do. If you’re into marketing like I am, start contacting marketing professionals in the area (either via email or Twitter) to make an initial connection. Thankfully, through college, I received a marketing scholarship from an organization based around Boston, so those were the first people I went to when I was looking for a job.

Essentially, network creatively. Find out what topic of interest you want to start a career in and find others who are doing just that. Get their attention either by chatting on Twitter, sending an email or attending an event and making a personal introduction. I was able to meet many very successful marketers around the Boston area by doing just that. After you’ve made your first successful networking contact, they can surely help you branch off and meet others.

How do you know what events to attend?

It’s always good to make a personal connection. If you can attend the events that admirable professionals in your industry are attending, that is a great start. You can also get recommendations about events and conferences from your first few contacts. I’ve found that some networking events are more valuable than others. Here in Boston, there are events where it is just a social gathering involving small talk and beer. Then there are conferences with learning sessions and breakout networking times. I value both for different reasons. I started going to both when I began crafting my way into the Boston startup scene. I found that the social ‘drink-ups’ as they’re called were great to have casual conversations and get your name known. You may not learn too much, but there sure are a lot of people to meet. That’s actually how I got involved being a writer for BostInnovation.

Conferences are a great way to learn and get your name out there. Conferences tend to be larger, so it’s always important to find out who is going and make a point to meet them there.

How do you know when to take a chance?

Working for a startup does involve some risk. Unlike an established brand or corporation, startups are small and often bootstrap or VC funded. This meaning that there is a limited cash runway and hard work involved to push through the competition and challenges to make it to the top. Before I accepted my job offer with Backupify, our CEO Rob May made a point to explain to me exactly what taking a job at a startup meant. It meant there was risk of failure, hard times among the good times, and long hours. Thankfully, I was up for all of that – but many are not.

I’ve spoken with many colleagues who started their career off at a standard corporation, being a number among thousands of other employees, and just living day-by-day, not enjoying their job. I’m always interested to hear how one day they snap and realize they want to enjoy their career and find a company and a job that is truly rewarding. Many times, landing a position at a startup company can be just that opportunity with exposure to almost every activity in the company including being involved with executive decisions, being challenged like never before, and having a say in the direction of the company.

I’m thrilled I took the leap into the startup world as my first career job. It has been the most rewarding, creative and challenging job I could have ever wanted.

What other questions do you have in regards to learning about startup culture? If you made the move from a ‘regular’ job to a startup, what was your experience like? I’d love to hear from you!

Feb
28

#SoxUp Recap

soxup Boston, MA event

(Picture courtesy of Derek Wilmont on Flickr)

First of all, it was great to meet each and every one of you on Thursday night (February 25th) at the Boston, MA Soxup event at Fenway Park Absolute Clubhouse hosted by Awareness. It was really neat to watch the ‘Twitterverse’ come to life during an event like this. Going into the event, I only had met three people that I knew were going to be there, and left having met about eight more.

The environment on Twitter before the event almost mocked the types of conversations going on during the event. Before the SoxUp, all attendees, including me, were using the hashtag #soxup to locate others who were going as well, so as to ‘meet’ them beforehand. After I did this, I then engaged in conversations on Twitter with several people whom I connected with via the hashtag.

This then allowed me to locate these people immediately at the event, either by facial recognition or by their Twitter username printed on their name tag. I was then able to immediately engage in a conversation with these people, as we had already ‘met’ on Twitter. This saved the time of introducing myself, working the room, and making small talk. Instead, the time was used more efficiently by engaging in meaningful conversations regarding the Internet marketing industry, social media, or the event itself.

Sites like Twitter have truly revolutionized the networking environment to make it more open via the Internet, and more efficient in person.

Overall, I think the event was fabulous. Awareness’s Christine Major did an excellent job facilitating the welcoming speech, introducing featured guest Steve Garfield, and interacting with everyone there. The environment was a great place to meet with everyone (and it kept us out of the rain!). I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone I met there on Twitter and at future events!

How do you find that Twitter is a valuable networking facilitator?

Jan
02

The Road to Web 2.0

During college, I only used Facebook as a social media outlet. However, after studying various topics of marketing in college courses, and speaking with some amazing people in the field, I have become fascinated and passionate about the social media aspect of marketing.

Being involved in social media and getting ‘found’ online requires a great amount of time and effort. Since about three weeks ago, I have now enhanced my Facebook and have developed a Twitter account. I have learned how to work on Twitter and to network with others through it. I also created a LinkedIn account where I have reconnected with former colleagues, employers, and classmates. This site also allowed me to integrate all of my social media into one platform. I then uploaded my video resume onto YouTube, and plan on making a much more interactive and personal one in the upcoming week. This video has been promoted on both my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, and I have several views already. In addition, I have created a blog and made a resolution to create at least three blogs per week.

After all this, I then searched for my name on Google. Originally, I only had about two links for my name on Google, and they were on the bottom of the screen. Now, I have 2.5 pages of links just about me! I found this incredible. If someone searches for me on Google now, there is a Google profile which I created that discusses a little more about me.

I have now learned that getting involved in all of these social sites is a great way to get found, but getting found is as easy as getting forgotten. You must constantly update your content to be remembered. This requires adding new Tweets at least a few times a day, developing several blogs a week, and updating your LinkedIn profile. In addition to that, I am beginning to create my own website that will integrate all of my social media outlets into one comprehensive site, and it will also display my passions, ideas, etc.

Networking is the new way to get ‘found,’ and even to get a job. Having those personal connections and keeping in contact with them is so essential today. I am very thankful to those who have helped me along the way to develop all of this. I hope you find this information valuable and can help you develop your social platform and network like I have. Good luck to you all! Thanks for reading!

Go back to top