First off, let me be clear I'm not selling any services here. Looking for advice. This is more of a career post, with how I can convert my corporate experience into startup experience.
Background: I have a day job as a F500 finance manager. My company is stingy with titles, and the reality is it's a director level position at many other F500 companies and certainly equivalent to a director level position at smaller companies. But I'm not here to flaunt my resume. The point is, I have substantial experience directly supporting executives in strategic decision-making, building detailed financial models and implementing cost management systems. In this F500 company, I've frequently been placed in fast-growing or turnaround business that had financial support needs very dissimilar to some of the more established businesses. I also recently finished my MBA from a T20 school and have an accounting undergrad. I feel confident I can be a valuable partner to many startups and ultimately want to transition from being a cog in a giant corporate machine to being a key strategic partner on a startup's management team. I recently went through the interview process for a Head of Finance role and then the Head of Supply Chain role at a series B funded startup. While I didnt get the job, the feedback was immensely positive and the reason they wanted me to interview for the Head of Supply Chain after finance didnt work out is that they saw the strategic leadership and wanted me on the team. But then, in both cases, it came down to them having another candidate with tangible startup experience and they just felt more comfortable betting on them given that they had been through the capital cycles before. I get it. They did say they believe I would have been an excellent Head of Finance at their company had we found each other a bit earlier and that they felt I was a strong candidate for that position generally. But I know that they wont be the only ones who end up seeing my F500 background and having doubts about my ability in the startup arena.
So that's what I'm here for. I'm in a bit of the classic experience catch-22. Gotta have startup experience for a startup to hire you (in a financial leadership position). I'm at a good company and paid well, so while I'm 100% willing to jump ship for a Head/VP/Director of finance at a startup, even if the pay isnt quite the same, it doesnt make sense to try to jump into an analyst position, financially or in terms of giving up my momentum here. While I'm continuing to apply, I also want to seek out opportunities to cut my teeth and establish tangible experience in the startup arena. My thought is to offer pro bono financial consulting support to startups with seed funding. Whether it is help with pro forma financial modeling, pitch decks, building initial cost management procedures, market analysis, investor relations, business strategy, etc. Basically I want to come on and be a business advisor. My reward is tangible projects I can talk to and demonstrate that my F500 experience translates, and I'd continue learning and filling in the gaps that I do have with real experience.
My question is, what is the best way to get in front of startups that might need my help and be willing to partner? I am not based in CA or NYC, so not physically able to just hang out at the incubators or run into folks in the normal course of networking. Are there organizations that I should reach out to that could share my info to the relevant audience?
Also, in terms of setting upfront criteria on who I would work with (because I have limited bandwidth): is setting the bar at seed funding fair? My thought is that if I dont have a bar, then everybody with a half-baked idea will hit me up and that's a waste of time. But folks with seed funding are serious and getting things under way, but likely dont have the cash to hire a finance team member as they are prioritizing product/market fit and generating sales. That's where I could add a lot of value in helping establish key metrics, a strategic roadmap, pro forma financials, etc. All of which would help them approach Series A funding.
Thoughts? Trying to be creative here and hustle a bit. I can keep applying for these positions and likely someone will eventually take a chance on me, but at the same time I know I have a weakness in my candidacy and want to do what I can (short of blindly giving up a good career) to address it.
I appreciate any insight you guys have.
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