Job Search!

So, for the first time since I was 15, I find myself without a job.

Back in October of 2007 I left the large EDA company I had been working for on and off for much of my career to join a small, local startup.

This startup had a very cool idea which involved a mix of hardware (a custom chip) and software (both tools and application software) for a device called an MPPA or Massively Parallel Processing Architecture.  They were looking for someone to manage their Software Tools group.

I got the job and happily did so for the next 13 months or so.

As October 2008 rolled upon us, two things were clear:

1. We were running out of money.  Our Round B financing had come up short of what had been promised, so the runway we’d been planning to run till April 2009 was suddenly pulled in to mid-November.  This meant going out to the investor community to ask for more money.  Which led to the second conclusion.
2. November 2008 was a lousy time to be asking for investor money.

Though our CEO made every reasonable effort to try and get us the money, it was clear that there was not money to be had.

Even though we had product (production hardware), software, applications, customers and big name partners, it was just too risky for investors.  So, in mid-November, the money ran out and the doors shut.

I’ve been unemployed since.

Up to this point in my career, I’ve been fortunate in that any changes I’ve made, be it from one company to another or within the same company, they’ve been by my choice and on my timeline.  I’d take a couple of weeks off between jobs or start directly, but was never without work.  Till now.

And now, we have a triple whammy making things more difficult: The economy, the season and (locally) the weather.

So, I have updated the resume to reflect my most recent experience and have been floating that about.

I have made contact with my network to beat the bushes that way.

And I’m still looking.

As a result of all this, my focus these last few weeks has been less than perfect.  The holidays have helped, giving me something else to do, but it also serves to remind that we have less money to work with during the holidays.

Now, with the holidays moving behind, the weather (locally) improving and people going back to work after the holidays, it’s time for my focus to more effectively shift to finding that next opportunity.

We’ll see how it goes.