Anyone remember that complaint about “there aren’t any experienced executives available here in the job market?”

Well — thanks in no small part do the market downturn — it seems to me that anyone who can’t find a good, experienced (ie 2+ success) executive willing to join their startup now isn’t looking hard enough.

In the past month or so, I’ve met with many very experienced, qualified, and well regarded executives who have been looking for a great company to join. Whereas a year ago I had many venture firms and companies talking about how hard it was to find folks at the Director, VP, or even CEO level to run their companies, I think the tide has turned quite significantly.

One of the major things I’ve noticed, is that there are lots of folks “back in the market,” so to speak–I’ve spoken with number of executives (with some great successes) under their belt, who had taken some time off, were dabbling in angel investing, traveling, etc. — but who are now thinking they’d rather be involved in something. Sometimes, it’s because their stock portfolios are down, but often more than anything they’re looking for the challenge of a company to run. I also think this is somewhat due to a smaller number of “new” companies being funded, which is constraining the demand side–particularly at Tier 1 funded startup firms.

So, the upside: if you’ve got the money or funding, those experienced execs you’ve been looking for seem to be out there…

Filed under:
Employment, Startups by Benjamin Kuo