NYC Startup Career Fair

Eric Wiesen

Back when I was at Columbia, my friend Mark Davis decided that part of getting involved in the venture/startup ecosystem here in New York meant actively building a community that could support and foster entrepreneurs and their companies. Looking just around Columbia there was a terrific collection of talent without a lot of infrastructure in place to support their efforts.

Being the terrific builder of organizations that he is, Mark decided to start the Columbia Venture Community. I was a minor helper of sorts, but Mark has been the driving force behind this initiative since Day 1. Now, a couple years later, this community has teamed with the similar community at NYU to put together the NYC Startup Job Fair.

Many of us have bemoaned in recent years the observable phenomenon of smart college grads going to Wall Street or big consulting firms instead of joining startups. This job fair is a step in the right direction toward giving upcoming and recent graduates exposure to NYC startups and the potential jobs they might do inside of these companies. I have long believed that most students just do whatever they are tracked to do by their school’s career services apparatus. This is why most law students become lawyers, most MBA students wind up at banks or consulting firms. By creating a “track” for startup employment, groups like CVC and NYUVC are building important foundational pieces to encourage the best and the brightest to join our ecosystem.

If you’re a startup, participate in the fair. If you’re coming out of school or recently graduated and have thought about startups, this is a good way to see a bunch in one place. Nice work, guys.