Poster showing keynote speakers at TiE Con 2023 May 3-5. Photo: courtesy ICC
The India Community Center started in February 2003 by successful entrepreneurs in California with the mission to “Unite. Serve. Celebrate” is partnering with the global non-profit, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) to TiEcon 2023. The TiE Silicon Valley chapter (one of the 61 chapters across 14 countries) is hosting their annual flagship event, TiEcon 2023, in-person at the Santa Clara Convention Center on May 3-5, with 200+ prominent tech speakers, a press release from ICC said. “With 1000’s of attendees, this is your best opportunity to network, learn, and grow in your field,” notes the press release. TiEcon 2023 has the goal of highlighting well-known industry thought leaders in areas such as AI/ML, Cloud/Edge, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Web 3 & Metaverse, Climate Tech, Global Connect, Rocketship India, and GenAI tracks, through engaging in stage conversations. Organizers said an added bonus was the opportunity for startup founders to separately apply for value-priced entrepreneurship programs and Expo at TiEcon 2023 “to substantially accelerate their startup journey.” These are TiE50 Awards, Expo, Startup Bootcamp, Mentor Connect, AI/ML Bootcamp, and VC Connect. The India Community Center was started by Silicon Valley’s Gadhwani brothers, Anil and Gautam, first generation successful Indian American entrepreneurs. The ICC describes itself as a Broad-based and inclusive Community Center with the mission to preserve the culture, values, and heritage of India for future generations based on the vision and ideals of the Founding Fathers of India. The ICC, located in Milpitas, California, is funded by membership fees and community donations and holds events year-round. It had some 150 volunteers by 2021, according to the website.The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) was founded in 1992, in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region of India. TiE Global is a nonprofit organization devoted to entrepreneurs in all industries, at all stages, from incubation, throughout the entrepreneurial lifecycle. With a global reach and a local focus, the heart of TiE efforts lies in its five foundational programs, – Mentoring, Networking, Education, Funding, and Incubation, the organization website says. With 15,000 members currently, TiE is among the largest entrepreneurial organizations and according to the organization, TiEcon “is the is the largest professional and networking conference for entrepreneurs.” (tie.org/about/) India Community Center in California partnering with TiE to host 2023 business conference
Unfortunately, many of of these enterprises won’t last long: 30% of new businesses fail within two years, and half don’t last past five, according to the Small Business Administration. While some of these unlucky founders will pursue new ventures, many others will try to rejoin the traditional labor force.
So we surveyed more than 700 hiring professionals to determine whether founders really can get new jobs that easily, as well as seven former entrepreneurs who successfully made the transition back into the workforce.
We found that former business owners were actually less likely to get interviews compared with applicants with only traditional experience. This was true regardless of whether they had sold or closed their businesses. And the longer they were out of the traditional workforce, the worse their chances of success were.
Why do employers hesitate to take a chance on former business owners?
It starts at the earliest stages, with the recruiters who screen people into – or out of – consideration for interviews. We found that recruiters worried that entrepreneurs would jump ship to start their own companies as soon as they can. This is a problem for employers, since hiring is a long, expensive process that can take months or even years to pay off.
For example, one recruiter told us, “I am looking for candidates that will be long-term employees, as we invest quite a bit into each hire. When I interview people, it is generally a red flag if they say they want to start their own business or already have a business on the side.”
A related fear: A worker who leaves to start a new venture might be tempted to poach talent, clients and tactics from their old employer.
Recruiters were also concerned that former entrepreneurs may refuse to take directions. Spending time as your own boss can make it difficult to adapt to a lower place on the organizational hierarchy. As one recruiter in our study put it, former business owners “are used to being the one who makes all the decisions.”
They also raised issues of job fit, questioning whether ex-entrepreneurs’ knowledge and abilities would translate to traditional work. “The concern would be the skills they have developed don’t transfer,” said one of our interviewees. In addition, for entrepreneurs who have worked alone, it can be difficult for recruiters to know how well they’ll perform with others.
Even when a former entrepreneur is a good match for a position, recruiters can fail to make the connection because of stereotypes or misunderstandings about their experience. A former bakery owner we interviewed recalled applying for a position and being pigeonholed based on their experience: “They said, ‘Oh, I wish we were hiring for a baker!’ and I said, ‘No, no, no, I’m applying for your front office.’ It was like they thought all I knew was just a baker, but that is far from the truth.”
Landing an interview
Our research adds to a growing body of evidence that ex-entrepreneurs struggle to get interviews and offers. Thankfully, it also offers insights that organizations can use to improve their applicant pool – and that enterprising job seekers can use to boost their odds.
Our study found that former entrepreneurs face less bias when they apply to roles that seem entrepreneurish – in other words, that are in line with stereotypes about business owners. So, for example, they’re more likely to land interviews when applying for positions with a lot of autonomy, such as in new business development, rather than those that require following lots of rules, such as in legal compliance.
Relatedly, our research suggests that recruiters – perhaps unintentionally – have biases against ex-entrepreneurs. Acknowledging such tendencies is a good first step toward minimizing their influence. Moreover, not all recruiters are equally affected: Another recent study showed that recruiters who also have prior entrepreneurial experience – as well as women and those who were recently hired – were less likely to screen out former business owners. So organizations with more diverse hiring teams and a deeper understanding of entrepreneurial experience might see less-biased results.
For their part, ex-entrepreneur job applicants would be wise to highlight in-demand aspects of their work history. For instance, a recent survey by Boston Consulting Group found that executives rank innovation as one of their top three priorities. Former entrepreneurs should emphasize their many valuable characteristics – such as being passionate and creative – that contribute to innovation.
The lack of a traditional employment history may create obstacles for entrepreneurs trying to rejoin the workforce. Recruiters who overlook their value risk missing out on strong candidates.
By Paul Ebeling: Donald Trump, “Hillary’s getting all ‘pumped up’ for the Debate, let’s have a drug test.” Donald Trump suggested Saturday that Hillary Clinton has not been seen in public lately because she was getting “Pumped Up” for their last debate Wednesday in Las Vegas and said that both candidates should take a drug test before they meet in Las Vegas. “She’s getting pumped up for Wednesday night,” the GOP nominee told a rally in Portsmouth, NH. “I don’t know, maybe, we are like athletes, right?” “Hey, look, I beat 17 Senators, Governors, I beat them all,” he said. “We are like athletes. “Hillary beat Bernie Sanders, but it looks like Bernie got a bad deal, based on WikiLeaks, right? “But we’re like athletes, right?” Donald Trump said. “But with athletes, they make them take a drug test, right? “I think we should take a drug test prior to the debate. I do. Why don’t we do that? “We should take a drug test prior, because I don’t know what’s going on with her.” Donald Trump then commented on Hillary Clinton’s energy levels during last Sunday’s debate at Washington University in St. Louis. “But at the beginning of her last debate, she was all pumped up,” he said. “But at the end, it was like, ‘Oh, take me down.’ “She could barely reach her car. So, let’s have her take a drug test,” Donald Trump said. “I’m willing to do it.” Donalld Trump andMrs. Clinton will debate at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Trumpeting for Trump. Source: http://www.livetradingnews.com/
