Looking for a Fresh Start (Up)

An Open Letter to Founders, CEOs, and Hiring Managers of startups (or friends of these people),

Hello, my name is Garrett and I am looking for a position geared towards software/business development with a startup company.   I have a background in Industrial Engineering and a love of creating things.  Recently, I have overseen the development of three unique pieces of software: an enterprise wide system, a technology that sits on top of Twitter, and an iPhone app that received national acclaim.  I have the skills and work ethic to be a successful addition to your startup company.

Five months ago, I left my corporate job to start my own business.  I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit that needed to be set free.  Armed with an idea and high hopes, I left my corporate job at the leading IT Hosting provider to start a business based on an innovative idea to scale B2C communication on Social Media platforms.

My final role in the corporate world was a Project Manager on a team responsible for developing and deploying an enterprise wide piece of software.  I worked with software developers and end users to create a tool that had a very successful launch and adoption.  Throughout this process, I discovered that I had a skill at piecing together customer requirements, communicating them to the developers, and ensuring that the development worked holistically for the good of the entire business.

I loved the aspect of creating, and the successful launch of this enterprise wide project gave me the confidence that I could do this again.  I was bitten by the development bug.

Around this time, I had created an idea with a partner that utilized Twitter in a unique way.  With my new found confidence, I interviewed and selected an offshore development team and began work on the project.  In working with foreign developers, I quickly learned that one thing all people love to share is their own unique culture and traditions.  By taking an active interest in the people that I was working with, I was quickly able to navigate around the cultural differences and developed a strong relationship.  To give them insight from where I came from, I sent them a package filled with Rico’s Cheese, Ranch Style Beans, Cholula Hot Sauce, Willie Nelson CDs, and a Lone Star Flag to make them honorary Texans.

Concurrently, I began working on an iPhone App from an idea that was generated at the bar one night with my friends (isn’t that how all great ideas begin?).  I pursued a separate set of outsourced developers to create BarCards.  This simple scavenger hunt game for the bar went on to garner local and national press and was something I am very proud of.  I have a roadmap for further development, but I need more than a shoestring budget to make these enhancements.

While far from being a technical software developer (as this blog attests), I have successfully overseen the development of three unique pieces of software, designed for drastically different situations, created by both onsite and offshore developers.  In addition to discovering a skill for this type of work, I found that it is something that I thrive on.  After some self introspection I learned why: I love to create.

I realized this more and more as I read Clay Shirkey’s book Cognitive Surplus.   I love taking something from a thought or concept, bringing it to life, and adding value to the world.  I have tapped into this by managing software development and am looking to expand outside the digital world into actually manufacturing a tangible item.  I love adding value to the world by creating a solution that had not previously existed.

I was formally trained as an Industrial Engineer and believe that gives me a unique perspective in software development.  Throughout my career, I have looked at processes from end to end in a logical manner and identified areas for improvement.  This skill is the cornerstone of my ability to examine how different pieces/functions of software fit together.

In looking for a job, it is tempting for me to fall back on my past experience and formal training to find an Industrial Engineering or Process Engineering job.  However, I am looking to get out of my comfort zone and look for a new challenge in a startup environment.  I’m writing this letter because you are the person (or you might know the person) who can help open the door for me.

By becoming a part of your startup team, there are benefits for the both of us.

WHAT YOU GET

• Hard working individual who knows that in a startup environment you sometimes have to toss theory out the window and roll up your sleeves to get the job done.  Growing up working in a record store for 10+ years, we had a bathroom that had to be cleaned.  While no one was officially a janitor, the job still had to get done.  I’m not afraid doing the jobs (even the unglamorous ones) that just need to be done.
• An employee who recognizes that money doesn’t just grow on trees.  For the first five years of my life in corporate America, I really took for granted the amount of money that I got paid.  I now know how difficult it is to bring in revenue and have a new respect for it.  I am going to do everything in my power to make sure your startup is successful and financially solvent.
• Someone who can bring in “slap yo’ mama” queso or enchiladas to the company potlucks.
• A person who can see the big picture of how things tie together.  This is one of my strongest skills and something I credit to my Industrial Engineering education.  I really have a strong sense of how things are put together and have a sixth sense of how things impact one another.
• An analytical person who can talk.  Really.  I promise.  I know it is hard to believe, but I don’t fit the stereotypical profile of an engineer in a joke I once heard. Q: “How can you tell if you’re working with an extroverted engineer?” A: ‘He looks at your shoes when he’s talking to you.”  I can communicate effectively with anyone from the cleaning ladies to the VP of Strategy and every stop in between.  Give me a call to find out.  I mean, come on, I was on Wheel of Fortune after all, so you know I have to have a personality.
• A person who knows that well done is better than well said.  Need I say more?

WHAT I GET

• The opportunity to work with a dynamic startup.  I like things being fluid, unwritten, and novel.  Don’t confuse this with me being averse to having a plan.  I like a plan; I NEED a vision. I want to know where your company is going and how you plan on getting there.
• The insight of how to take a product to market.  This is my biggest weakness right now, and I really want to shore it up.  I don’t know how to bring things to market (specifically a new idea) and I want to learn how to do this.  I would ask that you share your thoughts and ideas with me so that I can grow and learn.
• The ability to broaden my network.  I want to make contacts with people in the startup sphere; since I don’t really have any now, I figure the best way to make them is to work for you and do an awesome job.
• A paycheck. This is important to me right now.  I have gone five months existing off of the money that I put aside to launch my business with no cash coming in.  Yes, I need to get some money, but I assure you that you will get a quality employee.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post.  If I have piqued your interest and you want to see my résumé, have a friend I should contact, or just want to find out how it was to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, feel free to drop me a line at pinojo [at] gmail [dot] com or on Twitter.

I'm Pat Sajak approved; you should definitely give me a call.