Helping Ivy League-educated, overachievers find meaning and clarity in their career | Speaker, Clarity Coach, Entrepreneur

Huw coaches founders and their leadership teams to create clarity, attain alignment, and unleash their potential. He has worked with CEOs of VC and PE backed software and technology companies on both growth trajectories and supported them through turnaround or transition.

Huw is a 3-time founder, investor, and speaker turned executive coach. His corporate career centered around his work at Goldman Sachs, Rackspace, and Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with $160bn under management. While at Bridgewater Associates he was a Senior Management Associate responsible for Portfolio Analytics. In 2016 he acquired and later sold Jungle Disk, a cybersecurity company previously owned by Rackspace. He co-founded CyberFortress, a VC-backed insurtech startup in 2018 (where he also became a Talentism client!). He also co-founded Porthcawl Holdings, a value-driven technology holding company, investing in startups and businesses in the SaaS and bitcoin space.

Huw holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Ford Scholar and Baker Scholar, and holds undergraduate and masters degrees in mathematics from Oxford University,

Huw is a proud Welshman who lives with his wife and young son in San Antonio, Texas. He is a board member of the local Entrepreneurs Organization responsible for the Accelerator program, helping budding entrepreneurs scale their businesses to 7-figures. He is also Vice President of Programming for the Harvard Business School Club of San Antonio. His compulsions include identifying gifts in adversity, creating inspiring visions, radical self-discipline, and running 100 mile races in the mountains.

Huw Edwards

10 years sober. No notes. 

PS Happy St David’s Day. 

#NoRegrets #BestDecisionEver

3x Founder, Harvard MBA, ex-Bridgewater Associates, Goldman Sachs | Executive Coach | Helping ambitious founders/CEOs unleash their potential and purpose

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There are two versions of people when they encounter discomfort.

The version that:

- Back out of a big decision
- Slow down
- Second-guesses everything
- Keep waiting to feel ready

And the version that:

- Show up anyway
- Have the uncomfortable conversation
- Trust their training, experience, and abilities.
- Act a little before they feel ready

Discomfort is not a threat. 

Don’t let your brain confuse expansion for danger.

Stay long enough to experience the transformation.

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Read newsletter 

Read the newsletter here: http://newsletter.h3.xyz/

You either view life as:

I have to:

1. Lead another meeting
2. Show up for the team
3. Call that client
4. Pick up the kids

OR

I get to:

1. Guide people who trust my leadership
2. Elevate my team
3. Build valuable relationships that scale the business 
4. Spend time with my favorite humans 

The first approach will drain you before you even get started. 

The second approach opens you up to a deeper level of presence and purpose in everything you do.

I had trained for it.

And still, I was scared.

I was thinking about this the other day, as I geared up for Leadville again last August.

For context, Leadville is one of those races where everything, and I mean everything, hurts.

A 100-mile race. After 25 miles, you're still a quarter of the way through, and the real pain hasn't even begun.

And honestly, as I prepared, the nerves hit me.

I remember at about 3 a.m. on the day of my 2024 race, I was standing in the dark and cold, feeling unsure all of a sudden.

I thought, "Do I really want to do this? Could I just... not start?"

It was tempting to avoid it, but I pushed through and completed the race in good time.

And last year, that rush of uneasiness came back, but I did not back down.

I reminded myself that I’ve earned it, and I trained for it.

The race didn't quite go as planned, but I walked away with lessons to prepare me for this year.

No regrets.

I realized feeling nervous isn't a sign of weakness.

It's part of the process of doing something big, bold, scary, yet so thrilling and exciting.

And when the nerves show up again as I prepare for this year, I won't fight them.

That's what I want. I need it to hurt earlier.

That's the whole goal in a way.

Because I care.

Not just about the win.

I care about the struggles, the curveballs, and the lessons that come with the experience.

It’s okay to feel nervous.

Being a best friend, a parent, a CEO, a partner, a gym rat, a business ally, launching a startup, leading a project, and still doing self-care and so on at the same time is so dope.

Except we can't really carry all these things at the same time.

Balance is an illusion.

Chasing it comes with a weight that makes one more miserable than fulfilled.

There's a better approach to doing all of these without losing yourself or burning bridges.

I talked about it in detail in my recent newsletter.

You can read it here 👇👇

You've probably told yourself one or more times that you just need to find balance. Balance between being a CEO, business partner, parent, and best fr

The illusion of balance

Somewhere along the line...

Something happened. 

The more self-focused success becomes, the less alive it feels.

And the more numb you get.

The more numb you get, the more stuck you feel.
Somewhere along the line...

Something happened. 

The more self-focused success becomes, the less alive it feels.

And the more numb you get.

The more numb you get, the more stuck you feel.

Because, somewhere along the line, it stopped being about the impact of the work and became more about you. 

So you’ve lost touch with why you fell in love with your craft in the first place.

Find your way back to your why.

Beyond you.

You’ll feel alive again.
Because, somewhere along the line, it stopped being about the impact of the work and became more about you. 

So you’ve lost touch with why you fell in love with your craft in the first place.

Find your way back to your why.

Beyond you.

You’ll feel alive again.

3 resources to help you say no more.

1. TED Talk: The Art of Saying No by Kenny Nguyen
https://lnkd.in/gvjGfrjF

2. Book: The Power of Saying No by Dr. Vanessa Patrick
https://lnkd.in/gd3vMPPz

3. Podcast: How to Say No – We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle
https://lnkd.in/g7GGrYZs

Every yes is a step away from freedom.

Make it worth the while.

You can't explain it.

But you just knew.

To walk away from that deal.

To hire or not hire that person.

To start that project...

There's always that inner voice that tells us to do or not to do something.

Sometimes, we ignore it, and it backfires.

Other times, we're glad we listened to our intuition.

If only people trusted their instincts much more than external validation or waiting for proof.

Imagine how many mistakes would have been avoided.

Over the weekend, I explored the concept of pattern recognition that makes our intuition an ally for a happier life.

1,280 readers had a good read.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

How you narrate a moment of discomfort changes how you experience it.

Don’t focus on the pain, focus on the potential.

Find an advantage to get you going.

There’s always one.

Leverage it.

The stress doesn’t disappear, but when it has a purpose, you’re in control.

Life wires us to explore...to find out.

To be more, do more, chase more, win more, learn more, and keep evolving.

But life is not what you're really exploring.

It's you.

Some people get stuck exploring what works.

It's not their fault.

They just:

- Lack patience and self-trust
- Don't trust their conviction to act
- Pay attention to what everyone else is saying
- Hold onto things that made them successful

Exploring you demands:

- Patience to say no to good opportunities, and yes to long-term value
- You sit tight and trust your conviction
- Pay deaf ears to what the hell people have to say
- A f*ck-fear mindset to reinvent yourself

Don't be afraid to explore yourself. 

There's so much more you're yet to find out about you.

P.S: My view...

Would you choose your life again?

The responsibilities, pressure, decisions, mistakes, and wins.

All of it.

Yes?

It’s great that you never let go of what it is you really want, even as you grow into greater success.

No?

You may have lost your power of autonomy.

And your success doesn't entirely feel like yours anymore.

In today’s issue, I explored the thin line between “I have to” and “I choose to”.

Quite a good read that uncovers how to sustain the love for your craft yesterday, today, tomorrow, and ever.

A life you don’t grow to hate.

Read the newsletter here 👇

There’s something elite performers tend to experience as they become more successful. At the beginning, everything is a choice. Then the path, risks, 

Open article: The power of autonomy   by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

Give people ownership.

Let people still see themselves in what they do before, during, and after they work with you.

Let them bring themselves to the performance.

Your structure should be flexible enough to let them keep the joy of being their authentic self.

There's a thin line between discipline and squashing the flame that makes people feel great.

The autonomy to choose is key to sustaining high performance.

Over the weekend, I shared practices to avoid losing yourself to external pressure as you achieve greater success.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

Have a good read.

Care about what you care about per time, without feeling guilty.

What's the worst that can happen anyway?

You'll be surprised that there's nothing to worry about.

But to think you can handle every area of life at the same time already creates a problem.

Life is in seasons.

Something has to give sometimes.

You just need to be able to make these necessary tradeoffs without throwing away other things or burning bridges.

Over the weekend, I explored the illusion of balance and how to embrace the seasons of life for a more sustainable success.

You sure want to read this.

Find the link in the comments ↓

3 resources to keep you in love with your work regardless of life’s distractions:

1. TED Talk: My year of saying yes to everything by Shonda Rhime
https://lnkd.in/gA4buvjd

2. TED Talk: The Puzzle of Motivation by Daniel Pink
https://lnkd.in/gAdQiAP3

3. TED Talk: Your insecurities aren't what you think by Adam Grant
https://lnkd.in/gMmbi6_J

You already know.

The question is whether you trust what you feel.

Your intuition can play out as a quiet read you've earned through experience.

But most people have subconsciously silenced their instincts by over-relying on logic, validation, and proof before taking action.

And the more you can't trust your intuition, the more fragile your confidence becomes.

It's only a matter of time before you begin to feel like you've lost your spark.

I explored the grace of intuition as a big flex for greater success.

Read about it here 👇

You know that feeling when something looks good but doesn't feel good? Those shiny opportunities that your gut tells you not to engage. Or those you f

The grace of intuition

Being ambitious is great.

But be honest…

Do your current goals excite you?

Or are they just a logical move?

Most people burn out from chasing goals that slowly disconnect them from themselves.

Your goals can't just be ambitious.

Make them personal.

It's more thrilling.

I explored a different way to think about ambition in today's issue.

A good read for people who care about high performance.

Read it here 👇

You know how planning and working on a goal takes your focus, energy, and more. It's more like you're choosing how you spend your time. Most people qu

Open article: You set the goal, then it shapes you... by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

What are you becoming through the suffering?

Two things happen when you set a goal.

You nail it or miss it.

If you win it, you savor the excitement.

And if you miss, you're not self-sabotaging.

You know you still got paid with more discipline, courage, self-trust, and a lot more from the experience.

The journey and what you've become so far will fuel you to try again.

So no matter how hard it is, you'll find your way back up.

If you feel empty when you hit a goal or linger in the weight of missing it, your goal was probably very ambitious.

But it lacked a personal meaning to draw happiness or strength for what’s to come. 

Over the weekend, 1,283 readers learned 4 great steps to filter ambitious goals for a happier experience.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

Kyle Thomas

Went from cubicle data entry to Uber Employee 250 & Startup Exec | Helping you land your career-accelerating role in less than 90 days | Founder & CEO of UpEmployment Accelerator

When it comes to startup job seeking everyone wants to be an early employee at a unicorn 🦄 & earn millions 💸.

But what's the secret to landing those opportunities? 

Here's a hint...

They don't come from the "traditional job search".

When I was job seeking I had no idea what I was doing, but with experience and research, I found ways to stack the deck in your favor.

That's what led me to land a job as Uber's 250th employee. 

After Uber, it's what led me to a VP role with a $100k salary increase at a Y-Combinator startup.

That's why I built Early.

Do you have amazing experience & want to take the next step to accelerate your career in a startup, but not sure where to start?

I wished that someone had a playbook for how to do that. 

It didn't exist, so I created it.

The Early Accelerator gives highly talented job seekers a complete playbook for how to land your next dream role plus accountability & a community to guide you along the way.

The program is designed to allow you to:
- 10x your job hunt efficiency
- Know where you want to go
- Build your personal brand
- Know the salary and equity you command
- Create a system to generate connections & opportunities
- Generate 100x more warm network connections
- Leverage repeatable frameworks
- Get in a peak performance state
- Create unwavering confidence
- Get to your dream role

Despite the challenging job market, we have seen incredible results.
↳ Average job searches lasting ~3 months (90 days vs US avg of 5 months).
↳ >$200k in salary increases.
↳ >$800k in equity increases.
↳ Total compensation increases of over $1M.
↳ Advancements from Manager to Department Head.
↳ Major career jumps from VP to the C-Suite.

I formalized the proven system into an easy-to-execute framework that anyone can use to land their dream job.

My mission is to help millions live extraordinary lives by accessing opportunities that change their careers forever.

You deserve to work in a job that lights you up, pays you what you are worth, and accelerates you toward your vision of your dream future.

Let's go get you that job!

So, D.M 📩 me here or email me at kyle@BeEarly.com today so we can accelerate your startup career the right way.

Stop wasting time applying to every company where you meet the minimum qualifications and learn our proven way to land your dream job!

P.S. If you're a startup job seeker looking to cut your job search in half, outperform over 95% of other candidates, and land a top startup job, click the link in my Featured Section and apply today!

Founder

I take groups of people from A to Z in their job search so they can land their dream job without applying online.

These methods took me from cubicle data entry to a job as Uber employee 250 and from unemployed to startup executive. I'm not special, I can teach you to do the same!

Everyone's applying to the same 20 companies.

These 35 startups can't hire fast enough.

You want to join a team that's growing, not shrinking.

But which startups are growing the most?

I took the last 90-day hiring numbers for...
• Series A, B, and C startups 
• with HQ offices in major markets across the US 
• and funding in the last 12 months

These are the top 5 in each city that hired the most and are actively hiring today.

Even if you're not located in these cities, Many of the companies are hiring outside of HQ and for remote roles.

𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡
SEON (31 open roles)
Allen Control Systems (39 open roles)
Aalo Atomics (16 open roles)
Arintra (5 open roles)
Harbor Health (45 open roles)

𝗕𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡
Ledgebrook (14 open roles)
Kodex (3 open roles)
OneLayer (2 open roles)
CollegeVine (10 open roles)
Blue Water Autonomy Inc. (20 open roles)

𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗚𝗢
Nerdio (22 open roles)
Toro TMS (2 open roles)
Coinflow (11 open roles)
MUSH (3 open roles)
HOPPR (7 open roles)

𝗠𝗜𝗔𝗠𝗜
Félix (89 open roles)
Flow (34 open roles)
Boom (2 open roles)
FANBASIS (1 open role)
Guardz (14 open roles)

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗞
Nourish (108 open roles)
Arch (28 open roles)
Dash0 (25 open roles)
Tennr (28 open roles)
incident.io (29 open roles)

𝗦𝗔𝗡 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢
Substack (23 open roles)
Mercury (58 open roles)
Eve (26 open roles)
LangChain (67 open roles)
Peregrine (81 open roles)

𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘
XBOW (49 open roles)
Supio (11 open roles)
MIND (12 open roles)
Augmodo (1 open role)
Aurelian (11 open roles)

Go get that job and build something awesome 💪
_________________________________________________

For more lists & job search tips, follow me, Kyle Thomas.

♻️ Share this to help startup job seekers find a new role.

💬 Want help in your startup job search? Check out the link in my profile to see how Early can help.

I Teach Ambitious Startup Job Seekers How To Land Career-Accelerating Roles at World-Changing Startups | “De-Risk” the Search w/ Proven Methods & Investor-Grade Data | Apply to our Startup Job Search Accelerator Below

Last week, my father-in-law passed away at 69.

These lessons he taught me will help you live a fuller life.

Mike Darder was a rare kind of man.

My wife described him as a "man from a different time".

He would have fit better in the 1800s mountain-man era than in today's technological world.

He married young. He and his wife spent early summers living in a teepee in the upstate NY woods.

He worked for the Department of Transportation for 30 years before retiring.

He was an avid conservationist who hunted, fished, trapped, and cared for the land so it would be left better for future generations.

He was a man in every sense of the word.

Equally skilled at repairing a tractor or felling a tree as he was at creating beautiful furniture, drawings, paintings, and Native American artwork.

Strong but sweet.
Serious but funny.
Firm but gentle.
Short-tempered but unbelievably kind.

I met him in 2012, the year I met my wife, and he immediately took me under his wing.

13 years together sounds long. It went by in a blink.

In that time, he taught me more than I can explain.

Some of the lessons were spoken. Most were modeled.

I want to share a few so you can carry a piece of him forward - and live with the same depth and impact he did.

𝟭) 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁

Mike was there for every birthday party.
He was there for the birth of each of our 3 children.

Work is demanding. Your family is irreplaceable. 
Act accordingly.

𝟮) 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Your gift is wasted if you keep it to yourself.

Mike taught me the woods.
He taught his grandchildren to fish, build fires, and understand wildlife.

Even if you're still learning, teach someone behind you.

𝟯) 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿

If you feel stuck, go outside. Sit quietly. Think.

Mike spent hours in the woods each day.

He was deeper and more at peace than most people rushing to the next thing.

𝟰) 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

He worked for the DOT, but he was also a father, grandfather, friend, woodworker, outdoorsman, reader, writer, and artist.

It's easy to put on blinders and lose yourself in one thing.

But don't do that at the expense of erasing the rest of who you are.

𝟱) 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻

In tech and startups, everything moves fast.

But speed isn't always progress.

Pause. Read a good book. Feel the summer breeze. Listen to the birds.

I shared the rest of the learnings in the carousel below.

Read them. 
Reflect on how they apply to your life. 
Apply them.

I love you Mike. I miss you terribly. 

I'll be forever grateful for everything you gave me and my family. ❤️

10 Life Lessons from My Father In Law

What to join a startup with a good chance of success?

Join a founder with a prior successful exit.

The founders of these 20 Series B startups have already had a successful exit. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄!

This week I pulled a list of startups that:
• Are backed by top investors
• Raised a Series B 4-12 months ago
• Have a founder with a previous exit
• Are growing headcount faster than any other Series B

If you're looking to join a Series B startup that's rapidly hiring, check the careers pages for these startups below.

𝘒𝘦𝘺: 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺: 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 90-𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴, # 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴

 1. XBOW: 53 new hires, 38 openings roles
 2.  Fay Nutrition: 46 new hires, 5 open roles
 3.  Together AI: 38 new hires, 42 open roles
 4.  Levelpath: 32 new hires, 30 open roles
 5.  Monarch: 31 new hires, 7 open roles
 6. Sprinter Health: 27 new hires, 24 open roles
 7.  Savvy Wealth: 27 new hires, 16 open roles
 8.  Endor Labs: 22 new hires, 16 open roles
 9.  WorkWhile: 17 new hires, 19 open roles
10.  Tessell: 17 new hires, 15 open roles
11.  Tabs: 17 new hires, 23 open roles
12.  NetBox Labs: 16 new hires, 14 open roles
13.  Sentra: 14 new hires, 7 open roles
14.  Arena: 13 new hires, 7 open roles
15.  The Bot Company: 12 new hires, 14 open roles
16.  Archive: 11 new hires, 4 open roles
17.  GreenLite: 11 new hires, 11 open roles
18.  Aalo Atomics: 11 new hires, 22 open roles
19.  Mojo Vision: 10 new hires, 1 open role
20.  Omni: 9 new hires, 18 open roles

Go get that job and build something awesome 💪
____________

📆 Come back next Monday for another list of top startups looking for their next great hires.

Give me a follow, (Kyle Thomas) so you don’t miss it.

♻️ Share this to help startup job seekers find a new role.

Oh... and 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗗𝗠. 

We just had someone join our program and land a job at a top Series B startup in 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟳 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀.

>200 FinTech companies have raised money in 2026. Here are 30 w/ top investors & open roles 👇

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲:
• Company Name
• 🦄 = Valuation > $1 B
• 🏆 = > 90 % PitchBook success probability
• What they do
• Recent round stage, round size
• Position locations
• Openings by function

1. Rogo 🏆
AI finance analytics
Series C, $75M
New York City, London, Singapore, Remote
43 Openings
Sales (13) • Engineering (5) • Security (4) • Strategic Opportunities (6) • Product/Design (5) • Talent (3) • Finance (2) • Marketing (2) • Operations (1) • Legal (1)

2. WithCoverage 🏆
AI insurance brokerage replacement
Series B, $42M
New York City, Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Remote
26 Openings
BD/Sales/Growth (11) • Engineering (5) • Product (1) • Risk (3) • Marketing (1) • Recruiting (1) • Legal (2) • Operations (2)

3. Bretton AI 🏆
Financial crime compliance AI
Series B, $75M
San Francisco, Remote
8 Openings
Business (3) • Engineering (5)

4. SPRX (Onshore)🏆
R&D tax credit automation
Series B, $31M
New York City, Houston, Los Angeles
12 Openings
Client Success (2) • Engineering (2) • Operations (1) • Sales (7)

5. Relay https://lnkd.in/eyT6tHuc 🏆
Cross-chain bridging protocol
Series B, $17M
Denver, Florianópolis, Brazil, Philadelphia, Lisbon, Remote
5 Openings
Accounting • Growth Marketing (3) • Partnerships & Business Development

6. Concourse 🏆
AI corporate finance agents
Series A, $12M
New York City, Buenos Aires
9 Openings
Engineering (4) • Product (1) • GTM (4)

7. Kalshi 🦄🏆
Prediction market platform
Series E, $1B
New York City, Remote
27 Openings
Compliance (3) • Engineering (8) • Finance (4) • Growth (6) • Operations (1) • Product (3) • Talent (1)

8. Basis 🦄
AI accounting platform
Series B, $100M
New York City
15 Openings
Deployed Intelligence (2) • GTM (7) • Operations (3) • Technical (3)

9. JUSPAY 🦄
Payments tech infrastructure
Series D, $160M
Bangalore, São Paulo, Dubai
6 Openings
Engineering (2) • Legal (1) • Design (1) • Business Development & Marketing (2)

10. Monnai 
Financial data infrastructure
Series A, $12M
United States, Latin America Bangalore
6 Openings
Growth • Sales • QA • Privacy & Security • Data Science • Software Engineering

11. Rain 🦄
Non-custodial payments network
Series C, $250M
New York City, San Juan, Remote
29 Openings
Engineering (10) • Product (5) • Compliance (3) • Growth & Sales (6) • Marketing & Design (3) • Operations (2)

12. Dots 
Multi-sided payment infrastructure
Series A, $8.9M
New York City, San Francisco, Remote
4 Openings
Sales • Growth • Engineering (2)

💬 I'll share the rest of the list in the comments.

📆 Next Monday, I'll share another list. 

Comment below the kind of list you want to see 👇

Go get that job and build something awesome!
_________________________________________________

For more lists & job search tips, follow me, Kyle Thomas.

♻️ Share this to help startup job seekers find a new role.

Some of the biggest opportunities of my career came from a message I almost didn’t send.

You’ve likely been there.

Message typed out. Cursor hovering over the send button. Mind racing. Questioning every letter and punctuation.

Overthinking something you 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 will be needle-moving for your career. 

Worrying about timing. Tone. Whether it’s worth following up at all. 

But thick skin is a requirement in the startup industry. 

There are a few things you have to get comfortable with if you want to break into or continue to work in startups.

1️⃣ 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱.

I used to think silence meant I didn’t catch their attention. 
Now I know it usually means the other person is drowning in work. 
Startups run on chaos. 
People forget. 
Priorities shift hourly. 
A follow-up isn’t rude. On the contrary, it’s helpful.

2️⃣ 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱, 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲.

I used to replay every “no” in my head.
What did I say wrong? 
Did they not like me?
What should I have done differently?
But after hiring hundreds of people myself, I’ve learned that rejections are rarely personal.
Sometimes the budget changes. Sometimes the role changes. Sometimes the founder meets someone who’s been doing the exact job for 10 years. 
Rejection and failure always teach you something.

3️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴.

This one took the longest to outgrow.
I didn’t want to bother anyone.
Didn’t want to seem pushy, or follow up “too soon.”
But in reality, busy people appreciate persistence.

It shows you’re organized, committed, and serious.

I can’t count the times someone followed up with me, and I replied, “Thank you! I completely forgot about this.”

If you want to work in startups, you can’t let sensitivity stop you from showing up.

Thick skin isn’t about being loud or abrasive.

It’s about staying in the game long enough for the right opportunity to find you.

Follow up.
Ask again.
Try again.
Apply again.

Because the people who land the great startup roles aren’t the ones who never hear “no.”

They’re the ones who don’t let “no” stop them.

📌 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 - you’ll want it when your next interview loop starts.

👋 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲, Kyle Thomas, for practical startup job-search strategies + weekly curated job lists.

✉️ 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵? DM me to learn how Early can support you.

“Do I actually want this role?”

That’s the question you need to answer honestly if you resent the pre-job assignment.

I’m talking about the case studies, presentations, and work samples as a part of the hiring process.

The hiring team didn’t create a pre-job assignment as a thoughtless hoop to jump through just to make the process harder.

It’s a trailer for the movie.

And if you hate the trailer… you’re going to hate the movie.

Assignments are the best way for the team to get an idea of what it would actually feel like to work with you.

They’re also a great way for you to stand out in the process.

They’re also a great gut check of how much you want to work there.

They show you:

 • How the team thinks
 • What problems you’ll work on
 • Whether the work energizes or drains you
 • Whether you’d enjoy doing this every day, not just once

And yes - some people argue candidates “shouldn’t have to do pre-work before speaking to a hiring manager.”

I disagree 100%.

If you want the job, you’ll do the work.

If you resent the work, you don’t want the job.

Simple.

It may sound harsh, but it shouldn’t.

Take for example Caleb Ralston. 

He has helped build the personal brands for some of the largest founder-led brands out there. 

He was recently hiring for YouTube editors, and do you know what the process looked like?

YouTube editor TRYOUTS over the course of 4 days.

Candidates needed to sign up, were sent the raw video/audio files, and had four days to edit and submit their final video edit.

No interviews before the exercise, just “show me what you got”.

Hundreds of people signed up and did the free work for the opportunity to work with one of the best out there.

And that’s the thing, if you’re not willing to do it, in this market (and in any market at most top companies), there will be people who are more than willing to do the free work.

If you find yourself procrastinating, irritated, or indifferent, that’s your signal not to push harder… but to walk away.

But if you find yourself getting curious, going deeper, losing track of time…

That’s a signal that you should lean in.

That the role might actually be right for you.

That this is work you'll enjoy, not just endure.

The pre-job assignment is a preview of the next chapter of your career.

If you hate the trailer, don’t buy the movie ticket.

If you love it, that’s your green light to go hard.

A quick aside: I know people abuse these exercises but that’s not the norm. I spoke with a new grad last week who worked 80 hours a week for two weeks for a founder on an “exercise” to build them a product. The founder even asked her to work on Christmas day. After the two weeks they shared the salary and equity and it was far lower than market rate.

So do people abuse exercises, yes. But in my experience they’re few and far between. The best companies will run you through thoughtful exercises and the exercises and “free work” are an incredible way to stand out.

I scanned thousands of startups in January 2026, and found the 99 worth paying attention to.

Your next role could be on this list 👇

1. Fresh capital with immediate hiring urgency → https://dub.sh/jeNXS8Z

$5.39B raised and 1,100+ open roles across just 14 companies. Clear signals of momentum, budget allocation, and teams scaling right now.

Why this matters: recent raises paired with open roles typically mean hiring managers are incentivised to move fast.

2. Early unicorns with massive leverage → https://dub.sh/Cx3fJqp

High valuation + low headcount in early stages usually means bigger scope, faster iteration, and less organisational drag for operators.

Why this matters: money + ambition + still-forming orgs often equals accelerated responsibility and real ownership.

3. Scale-stage unicorns hiring at volume → https://dub.sh/YO7h9oW

These companies are later-stage, well funded, and hiring across multiple cities and functions. This is the real rocket ship expansion.

Why this matters: multi-location hiring and larger headcount signals budget certainty, internal demand, and teams that actually need operators now.

4. High-leverage teams where individual impact is obvious → https://dub.sh/157jIH2

Mid-sized teams with strong capital backing and a heavy bias toward remote hiring. These companies prioritize output and leverage over headcount bloat.

Why this matters: fewer people + strong funding often means high talent density and visible individual impact.

5. Unicorns that reward judgment, not just execution → https://dub.sh/0tllQ7y

Distributed teams across regulated, infrastructure-heavy, or coordination-intensive industries. These roles demand operators who can navigate ambiguity and cross-functional complexity.

Why this matters: companies like this hire operators for judgment and execution, not just role alignment.

If you found this helpful, follow me, Kyle Thomas.

📌 Save this post so you can apply later.

✉️ Want clarity on your startup job search? DM me to learn how Early can support you.

Let people help you.

I know it’s hard.

Hard to admit you’re not the macho man/woman who can handle it all on your own.

But you can’t do it all yourself.

Nor should you.

Let people help you.

It’s going to feel scary.

But you’ll be met with overwhelming support.

Whatever you’re working on - let people help.

That’s it.

Have a great weekend!

At the age of 24 I set 58 goals and achieved almost 100%. 

Here’s what I learned from the process. 

When I set the goals, I broke them down into 3 categories: 

→ Personal development goals (28)

→ Things I wanted (15) 

→ Economic goals (8)

Here’s the goal-setting exercise I used: 

→ Set a two-minute timer 

→ Envision your life 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 years ahead 

→ Focus on one aspect at a time (development, things, economic) 

→ Write down everything that comes to mind 

→ Circle the 3 highest priority goals from each section, for each of the years

→ Write down why these goals are a priority for you 

10 years later, I found my journal and here were my results: 

→ Personal development: 62% achievement rate (18/28) 

→ Things: 40% achievement rate (6/15)

→ Economic: 100% achievement rate (8/8) 

Here’s what it taught me about goal setting: 

1. There’s such a thing as too many goals 

I set 58 goals, then narrowed it down to 9 for the year. 

That is honestly way too many to focus on at once. 

Now I like to focus on one to two goals per quarter, max. 

2. Don’t forget the “why” and the “how”

There’s power alone in writing down your goals. Subconsciously you’ll work towards the things you think about. 

But the how is also important. 

Think about the first action necessary, and any blockers you forsee.

It’ll make starting easier. 

3. The “who” matters too 

You don’t need to figure out the path forward alone. 

Find someone who has done it before and enlist them in pursuit of your goal (I have a post coming out later this week sharing a great outreach message).

4. Priorities and goals change as you grow 

As a 24-year old, one “things” goal I had was owning a club. 

That’s the absolute last thing I would want today 😂

Your goals and priorities will change over time, and that’s ok. 

It’s also why you should check in more regularly (I recommend quarterly). 

5. Take small, immediate action 

Write the actions, behaviours, and habits you’ll need to become the person who’d achieve the goal. 

Then take a small immediate step in that direction. 

6. You need to get obsessed with your life

When you set a goal, get serious about it. 

Find podcasts, books, and content creators that cover it. 

Consume the information in your down time and visualise the goals. 

Here’s the TL;DR… 

If you do nothing else, write out your goals for the year. 

Even without a plan, if you look back in 10 years, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ve accomplished. 

But, if you want to achieve things quicker, focus on: 

→ Writing fewer goals at a time 

→ Not just the “what” and “why”, but the “who” and “how” 

→ Taking immediate action makes the goal a reality

If you liked this, follow me, Kyle Thomas for more.

Is one of your 2026 goals to land a new startup role?

Apply to our startup job search accelerator with the link in my profile.

♻ Share this to help startup job seekers find a new role.

If you aren't featuring AI in your startup job search, this is a wake-up call.

Block just laid off ~50% of its staff, citing AI as the main reason.

Also this week, Meta announced they're re-interviewing all their PM's with a Product Sense with AI interview with the risk of those who don't perform well potentially being marked as "legacy PM" vs "AI PM".

(You can read more about the Meta interviews in Ben Erez' post here https://lnkd.in/e2KuUPcP)

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗱 𝗱𝗼:

1. See if your company will sponsor you to take a course on how to use Claude Code, Devin, agent orchestration/workflows, whatever is most applicable.
   
   Our team is currently taking Sara Davison and Tyler Fisk's Maven course called How to Scale A Business With AI & Agentic Workflows - Foundations.
   
2. See if your company will sponsor you to join communities of people building with AI.

Get around others, see what they're building and how they're implementing AI in their day-to-day

3. Start a club inside the company that meets regularly and shares AI workflows, tips, tools, and tactics.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴:
 
1. If you're self directed, jump into the AI YouTube sphere and start walking through tutorials while using LLMs to act as your tutor.
    
2. If it's harder for you to get started or keep accountable to testing and experimenting, consider investing in yourself and taking a course or joining a community like the one above.

Do you need to be an absolute AI savage in your startup job search? 

𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁.

Will it significantly help your candidacy if you can proactively show the team what you can implement inside their business leveraging AI in your function and that you're AI literate?

𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝘆𝗲𝘀. 

This isn't meant to scare you.

It's to show you a potential advantage you can gain by using these tools and workflows today and showing them off to the teams you're interested to join.

Start tinkering.

Start testing.

Start building.

Proactively share your work before, during, and after your interview process.

---

🔔 Follow me, Kyle Thomas for more startup job search advice.
♻️ Repost to help others land their dream job!

Getting hired at a top startup isn't about your resume.
It's how you make the hiring team feel.

Top performers don't just apply. They make the hiring team think:
"Wow, this person already feels like part of the team!"

To do that, they go all-in on their:
→ Networking outreach
→ Applications
→ Interview prep

Here's what that looks like...

1️⃣ 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.
↳ They consume all the interviews with the founders.
↳ They know the founding story
↳ They know the language they use
↳ They know what the team cares about
↳ They know the priorities of the company
↳ They know how they talk about their customers

They research each interviewer like a podcaster.
↳ They know the jobs they have had
↳ They know where they went to school
↳ They've found similarities in their backgrounds
↳ They know how long they've been at the company
↳ They know how this role will impact each interviewer

The more they research the easier it is to turn the interview into a conversation.

2️⃣ 𝐈𝐧-𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞.

They don't just wing it in the interview.
↳ They craft answers and rehearse them out loud
↳ They proactively identify hiring manager doubts
↳ They identify ways to proactively remove doubts
↳ They do mock interviews with friends or coaches
↳ They use AI to come up with questions to practice

They want to go through as many simulations of the game as possible before they're put on the field.

Live practice with feedback trumps all other practice.

3️⃣ 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬.

They proactively identify creative ways to showcase
↳ Skills
↳ Network
↳ Experience
↳ Ability to drive impact
↳ Interest and excitement in the company

They do this by sending value deliverables like:
↳ Personal pitch decks
↳ 30-60-90 day plans
↳ Case studies
↳ Connections
↳ Playbooks

They compete on generosity and try to deliver as much value as possible to demonstrate their abilities.

4️⃣ 𝐆𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐮𝐩.

Everyone sends thank you emails (hopefully).

Almost no one sends…
↳ Testimonial videos from your network
↳ Thank you videos
↳ Follow up value

Things like that are little ways to stand out to the team.

"But won't it look like I'm desperate or trying too hard?"

𝗡𝗼, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁.
Founders love it
Recruiters love it
Hiring managers love it

It won't only help you land the job.

It'll help you earn instant credibility and attention.

Want to stand out?
It's not about doing what's 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱.
It's about doing what's 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱.

What’s the most “over-the-top” thing you’ve done in an application or interview?
Drop your story in the comments 👇

---

🔔 Follow me, Kyle Thomas for more startup job search advice.
♻️ Repost to help others find their dream job!

How do you land a remote senior leadership role at a $500M startup that isn't even hiring?

An Early member did it in 78 days.

Role: Head of Enablement
Company stage: Series B

Capital raised: >$100M

Valuation: $500M

Top investors: a16z, Sequoia, First Round Capital

PitchBook success probability: 93% chance of an IPO

Was the role posted: No
What got him the role: Genuine, proactive outreach (done right)

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:

𝟭. 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁

He had spent years in healthcare, but the role that excited him was in a completely different sector.

The hardest part was letting go of loyalty to his background and giving himself permission to pivot.

That clarity of what he actually wanted changed everything that came after.

𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

He didn't have a network in this space, so he built one.

He stayed close to the company's trajectory. Engaged with their content. Built a real relationship with the founder over weeks and months, not days.

The successful outreach was one of genuine interest in providing value.

The punchline of the message was: "What do you need right now?"

That question led to a conversation. The conversation led to interviews. The interviews led to an offer.

It all happened in a matter of days.

𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 - 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿

He made it to the offer stage with 5 companies.

Having options gave him leverage to choose the role that actually aligned with his skills, interests, and long-term growth - not just the first one that said yes.

In 78 days, he went from scattered and uncertain to leading enablement at a rapidly growing Series B startup that wasn't even hiring for the role he landed.

That's what alignment, preparation, and genuine relational outreach can unlock.

𝗔𝘁 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆, 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀:

→ Setting direction through clearly defined goals

→ Prepare in a way that builds real conviction

→ Turn outreach into relationships that compound

→ Land better startup jobs faster

Want to see similar success in your search?

Apply to join the Early Accelerator at 𝗕𝗲𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆.𝗰𝗼𝗺 or connect with me on LinkedIn and let me know you’re interested in learning more.

How To Land A Senior Leadership Role

Every startup looks healthy from the outside.

Pressure is what reveals the truth.

On the surface, most startups look the same.

Big vision. Slick website. Founders who act like they’re crushing it.

But you’re not joining as a customer or a follower.

You’re joining as a member of the team who will know very quickly what happens when things start to break.

And in startups, they always do. 

You’ll experience a missed goal or a failed launch. Investors pushing for different priorities. Competition stealing your ideas or your customers.

When that happens, one of two things shows up fast. 

Either… 

 • The team gets sharper
 • Decisions get clearer
 • People pull together

Or… 

 • Blame starts flying
 • Meetings turn chaotic
 • Top performers quietly leave

Your job as a candidate is to figure out which version you’re walking into before you sign. 

Here are 3 simple ways to stress-test a startup during the interview process. 

𝟭 → 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Everyone asks, “What’s the culture like?” 

Instead, ask questions that reveal behavior under stress:

 • “Tell me about a time you missed a target. What changed internally?”
 • “What’s been the hardest moment for the team in the last 12 months?”
 • “When priorities clash, who decides what gets dropped?”

You’re listening for clarity, ownership, and calm, not rehearsed interview answers.

𝟮 → 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁

Current employees will give you one view. Ex-employees will give you another.

You can find ex-employees in LinkedIn’s People Search by filtering for “Past companies”.

If you can, message one or two people and ask:

 • “What did you enjoy most about working there?”
 • “What ultimately made you decide to leave?”
 • “Knowing what you know now, would you join again at the same stage?”

You’re not looking for horror stories, you’re looking for consistent patterns.

[Quick tip: Try to speak with more than 1 person to account for the fact you may have found the only person with a terrible experience who was pushed out or the only one who had an amazing experience.]

𝟯 → 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀

Founders will often talk about values.

Ignore the slogans for a moment and look at behavior.

 • What do reviews say 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, not just recently?
 • How did they handle terminations or layoffs, if they’ve had them?
 • Do they celebrate only revenue - or also people, learning, and long-term bets?

Healthy cultures leave clues.

Your next startup could be the place where you do the best work of your career.

Or the place that has you planning your exit six months (or less) in.

Don’t just ask, “Is this exciting?”

Ask, “𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱?”

Because that’s the version of the company you’re really joining.

✉️  Want clarity on your job search? DM me to learn how Early can support you.

Every Startup Looks Healthy From The Outside

Cold outreach is dead.

Or so one of the members of my community thought.

But then he landed an interview for his next startup role.

Here’s how he did it, so you can do it too 👇

He left this message in the Early Accelerator:

"𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵!”

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁?

→ Plug-and-play templates

→ Killer examples from past and current members

→ A confidence reset from seeing others doing it

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 👇

Hi Tom,
I wanted to follow up on my candidacy for this position.
In case it is helpful, I've also attached a case study detailing a project I worked on at a previous company.

The presentation shows:
1. How I rapidly identified the problem
2. Implemented a new data tracking system to analyze the information
3. Came up with a novel solution that led to real business results

If this is the kind of work you are interested in, let's connect.
Thanks,
Steve

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗶𝘁!

Simple, confident, straight to the point (with a clean case-study deck attached).

You can do everything “right” in a startup job search, and still get nowhere.

So what if the answer is doing the thing that feels wrong?

Let’s turn the clock back to 2012.

I was stuck in a cubicle in data entry hell. 

So… I updated my resume and did the “right” thing.

I applied to dozens of jobs.

Many of them were startups.

What were my results?… You guessed it!

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Then I quit my job and moved to NYC with 90 days of savings and zero network.

Not what many would recommend as the “right” strategy.

But I threw out the old playbook:
→ Stopped focusing on roles and started focusing on people

→ Allowed myself to go down interest driven rabbit holes

→ Offered to do free or low paid work to get my foot in the door

→ Did something for myself every single day

It felt uncomfortable to not to be applying to dozens of roles each week.

But it also felt much more aligned with why I was making the change in the first place.

In 90 days, and with some luck (preparedness + opportunity), I was employee #250 at Uber.

I see this everyday in the startup job seekers we coach inside Early.

Those who are successful do the things that feel 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 to most candidates:

 • They focus on clarity before taking massive action
 • They build their confidence and resources before outreach and application
 • They have a “yes and” approach combining warm and cold outreach to leave no stone unturned (and they do lots of it)
 • They do everything in their power to stand out instead of fit in
 • They combine high quality with increasing amounts of quantity
 • They’re follow up hounds, persistent but polite of course
 • They do whatever it takes to get in the right room or in the right city

To many of them, this feels uncomfortable, “out of character”, or just flat out “wrong”, but it’s what gets noticed. 

Especially at startups.

Stop worrying about what the outside world will think of what you’re doing.

Stop worrying if this is the “wrong” way to go about the job search.

I’ve found that often the thing that feels “wrong” is just the discomfort of doing things you’re not good at yet or putting yourself in positions that will stretch you.

Umer went through the Early Accelerator program and landed a role that fit almost all of his ideal job characteristics in 90 days.

The role will position him perfectly to take his career in the direction he wants to be moving.

For those on the startup job search, read through his tips and start implementing them TODAY.

This is the way to land a great role at a great startup in this hyper-competitive market.

If you're interested in getting support with your startup job search and joining a highly engaged community of almost 200 startup operators helping each other, here's what to do:

1) Send me a DM or a connection request or...
2) Apply using the link to the Early website in my profile

Congrats Umer Jamshaid!

Ops & Strategy Leader (Ex-Uber, Ex-Amazon) | Ops Excellence in Marketplace/E-Commerce/Logistics | Helping Rapid-Growth Startups Scale Efficiently

Grateful to share my job search has come to an end!

More on my next steps soon, in the meantime I wanted to share some lessons learned and personal experiences over the last couple of months.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
- Extended trip to Japan with the family, surprised (and proud!) the kiddos were able to hike all the way through the 10,000 Torii gates to the top of Mount Inari!
- Got a chance to snowboard again after almost 8 years, luckily it just took a couple hours to get back in the groove. For those with kids, highly recommend the French Swiss Ski College at Appalachian Mtn for your kid's first time!

LESSONS LEARNED
1) Networking is key (as always!)
Conversations, intros, and referrals have always been the best way to discover and get connected to opportunities, but candidates need to make sure to do the pre-work to make the most of these convos
- Having a clear idea about what you're looking for and what you're bringing to the table
- Doing basic research so you can go deeper than surface level
- Having clear takeaways/next steps to maintain momentum after calls

2) LinkedIn > Resume
While it's important to have a concise, impactful resume that's (partially) customized to specific roles, having a target role-optimized LinkedIn profile and maintaining consistent engagement is a much better way to generate relevant inbound
- What have you done, what are you looking to do, in what kind of company/function

3) Showing next-level value
The market is tough these days, so taking the initiative to showcase your value and interest helps elevate your application 
- Loom videos for intro and post-interview thank you's
- Case studies to share deeper examples of your thinking and communication
- Ramp/time-to-impact plans at the end of an interview loop to close out strong and synthesize your takeaways 


I also wanted to shout-out all the people that helped along the way, your generosity with conversations, referrals, and recommendations is what really made a difference. An extra special call-out to Kyle Thomas and the Early Birds for really leveling up my search process, application artifacts, and growing my network across some unique startups!

HEY hiring managers,
If you could tell every startup operator one thing to STOP doing in their applications, and one thing to START doing, what would those be?

I’ll turn the replies into a post for top startup talent looking for roles right now.

1️⃣ Comment below
2️⃣ If you see a comment you agree with, like it + engage
3️⃣ Operators - ask questions if you want clarifications!

Go go go 👏

What’s slowing your job search down the most right now?

What’s slowing your job search down the most right now? 

(If your response isn’t here, feel free to DM! I answer them all)

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The Battle

Huw Edwards

Kyle Thomas

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Huw Edwards's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreHuw Edwards's LinkedIn Performance