Landing a Job at a Silicon Valley Startup

7 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

Want to find a job at a rocketship startup?

Course overview

Finding a job at a startup is tough.

Silicon Valley is the most exciting place to build your career -- but it's hard to break into from the outside.


How do you separate the great startups from the fakers? How do you convince a small company that you can help them succeed? Are there even roles for non-technical people in high-tech companies?


I'll help you answer all of these questions as we work together to find you a job at a startup.

Who is this course for

01

College students who are looking for their first job out of school

02

Folks who want to make a career change.

03

Impatient people (like me!) who want responsibilities beyond their years of experience.

What you’ll get out of this course

A fundamental understanding of what startups are, how they're funded, and how they work

Venture funding. Cap tables. Term sheets. Options. ARR, MRR, CAC. Pre-money valuations and post-money valuations. Exits.


And, importantly, why understanding those things will help you be a better startup employee.

1:1 office hours to help you tell your story to startups

I have been on the "other side of the table' while my startups have hired hundreds of people. I'll help you figure out how to stand out

A polished resume that will look great to a startup

The resume that will get you into grad school or land you a job at a big company will not work to help you find a startup job. I'll help you tailor your resume to get startup recruiters to pay attention to you.

A list of rocketship startups that are hiring people like you

We'll help you find roles that match your particular industry interests, skillsets, and ambitions.

Meet your instructor

Christian Keil

Christian Keil

Chief of Staff, Astranis

Christian is a native Midwesterner who started his career in consulting before moving to Silicon Valley to pursue his startup dream.


He started a company of his own and turned down a $500,000 funding offer to take a role at Astranis -- which ended up being a smart decision.


Over four years, Christian helped scale Astranis up to a $1.4 billion valuation. As the Chief of Staff, he works side-by-side with the company's founder and CEO, and personally runs the regulatory, marketing, and PR functions.

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Landing a Job at a Silicon Valley Startup

Course syllabus

01

Startup and Venture Capital 101

Learn the lay of the land: what startups are, how they're funded, and what they're looking for from employees at each stage of the startup lifecycle.


Homework: Building up your courage with a scary, but fun, take-home exercise.

02

How to Find a Rocketship Startup

Learn practical tips for discovering early-stage, high-potential companies.


Homework: Developing a personalized list of target companies.

03

How to Crush a Job at a Startup

Learn how to get shit done at startup speed, tackling a ton of work and earning the right to tackle bigger problems.


Homework: Drafting your startup-focused resume.

04

How to Play Politics (Without Being a Total Loser)

Learn how to advance in your career through "networking," but without anyof the icky, transactional stuff that word conjures up.


1:1 Session: Setting up time to review your startup story with Christian, so you can crush interviews.

05

Graduation!

Celebration time! Enjoy a fun (virtual) event with members of Christian's network in Silicon Valley. And, who knows: maybe you'll meet your future employer!

Course commitment

4-6 hours per week

  • Saturday Sessions

    1:00pm - 3:00pm EST

    Live, mandatory sessions with Christian are held each Saturday.

  • Weekly homework

    2-4 hours per week

    Work on your weekly assignments in your own time.

Learning is better with cohorts

Learning is better with cohorts

Active hands-on learning

This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects

Interactive and project-based

You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams

Learn with a cohort of peers

Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you

Frequently Asked Questions

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Landing a Job at a Silicon Valley Startup