????我是1995年進入創業圈的，當時我還是一名剛從哈佛大學（Harvard）畢業的MBA學生。那時，我的同學們都在爭相追逐高薪高壓的華爾街工作，我卻加入了一家只有30名雇員的首輪融資初創企業擔任產品經理，年薪只有65,000美元，比我上MBA前在管理咨詢公司波士頓咨詢集團（Boston Consulting Group）的薪酬還要低。此后，我的職業發展一飛沖天，但我經常回想起當初這一似乎是命中注定的決定。很多剛剛畢業的MBA學生經常問我：“怎樣在創業企業中找到一份工作？”或者，更常見的是：“我應該從哪里入手來尋找和評估創業企業的工作機會——我完全摸不著頭腦？”

????創業企業林林總總，在門外漢看起來可能高深莫測。刪繁就簡，我建議簡單采取四個步驟：以下是我的建議：

????? 選擇一個領域。首先，找到你富有激情的領域。你屬于企業對消費者（B2C）類型，還是企業對企業（B2B）類型？你都看些什么博客？你關注Techcrunch或《華爾街日報》（Wall Street Journal）上的什么文章？你夢想服務的公司是什么樣的？回答這些問題將有助于縮小自己感興趣的領域。結果可能不止一個，但應該不超過，比方說，三個。

????? 選擇一個城市。下一步，搞清楚自己想在哪里生活。同樣，這可能也會有很多選擇，但最好是一、兩個最喜歡的城市。每個初創企業社區都有自己的優缺點、弊病和特質。我發現，一旦年輕人選擇了某個創業社區，他們就會一直留在那兒。這是一個自然而然的現象——他們日積月累建立起的關系網會帶來一個又一個的機會。你在一家創業企業的同事會成為你在另一家企業的共同創始人。因此，鑒于這種“逐步積累”的現象，年輕的專業人士應當在職業生涯的早期就選好一個落腳的城市。

????? 選擇一個階段。下一步，決定你喜歡在處于什么階段的企業工作。叢林階段(仍在披荊斬棘，努力尋找通往成功的路）、土路階段(確立了最初的產品市場適應，試圖朝著一個相對明確的方向執行和擴張），還是高速路階段(沿著屢經驗證的道路不斷優化和擴張）？這個決定應當根據風險喜好、個人氣質和傾向來確定。如果你愿意承擔風險，享受挑戰和坐過山車一樣的感受，那么你適合叢林階段，可以優選那些處于種子階段融資的企業或最近剛剛獲得首輪投資但尚未實現收入的企業。如果你相對保守一些，希望獲得良好的薪酬，選擇一個“安全的”贏家，那么處于IPO前或剛剛IPO的高速路企業是合適的選擇。

????? 選擇有望勝出者。確定目標領域、地域和企業所屬階段之后，可以重點選擇幾家有望勝出的企業，也就是那些人人都認為擁有大好勢頭和潛力的熱門公司。畢竟，在某個特定領域，為什么要給那些絕對是大熱門之外的公司工作呢?門外漢怎么才能搞清楚在某一特定的領域、市場和公司發展階段，誰有望勝出呢？咨詢一下業內人士。在你的目標地域市場中，找到最大的3家風投、天使投資者、科技律師和獵頭，問問他們有哪兩家或三家熱門公司符合你感興趣的領域和階段。編輯公司名單，進行壓力測試，看看結果如何。被提到次數最多的公司將來自然而然會成為行業領頭羊，種種證據也令人信服。

????下面是我依據一位提問者的要求編輯的樣本圖，此君對舊金山/硅谷、紐約市或波士頓的電子商業、移動或“軟件即服務”(SaaS)公司感興趣。列表中的第一家公司處于較早階段(叢林階段或土路階段)，第二家處于較晚階段(土路階段或高速路階段)。這份列表只是為了說明問題，并沒有搜羅詳盡。

????My first time jumping into the startup world was as a freshly minted Harvard MBA in 1995. As my classmates were rushing off to high-paying, high-powered jobs on Wall Street, I joined a Series A startup with 30 employees as a product manager, making $65,000 per year - lower than my pre-MBA salary at management consultancy The Boston Consulting Group. Since then I've had a terrific ride, but I often think of that fateful decision when I get asked, repeatedly, by other freshly minted MBAs: "How do I get a job in a startup?" Or, more generally, "How do I even begin to find and assess startup job opportunities - I don't even know where to start?"

????The startup universe is a large one and can seem overwhelming and impenetrable to the uninitiated. In order to narrow things down, I recommend following a simple, four-step heuristic. Here's the advice I give:

????? Pick a Domain. First, figure out your passion in terms of domain. Are you more of a B2C type or a B2B type? What blogs are you reading? What articles in Techcrunch or the Wall Street Journal capture your attention? What companies are your dream companies to work for? Answering these questions will help narrow down a set of domains that you are excited about. It can be more than one, but it shouldn't be more than, say, three.

????? Pick a City. Next, figure out where you want to live. Again, there may be multiple options, but ideally one or two favorites. Each startup community has its own plusses and minuses, quirks and idiosyncracies. I find that once young people choose a particular startup community, they stay there. It's a natural phenomenon - they build relationships over time that lead to one opportunity after the next. Your co-workers in one startup become your co-founders in another. Thus, young professionals should be thoughtful about choosing a city early in their career because of this "settling in" phenomenon.

????? Pick a Stage. Next, determine what stage company you prefer to work in. Do you want a company that is still in the jungle phase (hacking through and trying to establish a path to success), the dirt road phase (established initial product-market fit and now trying to execute and scale in a relatively clear direction) or the highway phase (optimizing and scaling along a well-trod path)? This decision should be made somewhat based on risk appetite and somewhat on personal makeup and preferences. If you are a risk-taker and enjoy the challenges and roller-coaster ride, then the jungle phase is for you and you should bias towards seed funded or recently Series A funded companies that are pre-revenue. If you are more conservative, want a good salary and prefer to pick a "safe" winner, then a highway phase company that is pre-IPO or recently IPO'ed is the right choice.

????? Pick a Winner. Now that you have your target domain, geography and stage, focus on picking out a few winners - the hot companies that everyone thinks have great momentum and potential. After all, why would you want to work for anyone other than the absolute hottest company in a given category? How does an outsider figure out who the winners are in a given domain, market and stage? Ask a handful of insiders. Find the top 3 VCs, angels, tech lawyers and headhunters in your target geographical market and ask them for the two or three hottest companies that match the domain and stage you are interested in. Compile this list, pressure test it, and see what patterns you find. The firms who get the most mentions with the most compelling underlying evidence will naturally rise to the top.

????Below is a sample chart that I put together answering the question for someone interested in either e-commerce, mobile or SaaS companies in SF/SV, NYC or Boston. The first company listed is an earlier stage company (either jungle or dirt road) and the second company is a later stage company (either dirt road or highway). This list is illustrative - just to make the point - not in any way attempting to be comprehensive.