Welcome to Nobody Told Me. I'm Laura Owens and I'm Jan Black. A lot of people dream of working for a high-tech startup. But how do you make that dream become a

reality? Stephen Mark Cahan knows how to do just that, and he shares his wisdom in the new book,

Be a Startup Superstar. Ignite Your Career Working at a Tech Startup. Steve is our guest on this episode,

and one of his passions these days is to teach those graduating

from college and those who'd like to switch careers how to earn a great living at a tech

startup. Steve, thank you so much for joining us. Well, thank you. I have been very much looking

forward to being on your show. Well, we can't wait to hear your wisdom. You've successfully helped to grow seven startup companies from early stage development to going public or being sold.

How did you get to do that?

We'd love to hear more about your background.

That is correct.

But my background didn't start that way.

That's for sure.

I actually did not start in the startup world. I actually started at a

large corporation, and what I found was the traditional path of school to climbing the corporate

ladder could not only be high risk for my career, it almost felt like a death trap. And my father is

like so many other fathers and mothers.

I remember my father just pounding into me as I was going up.

He would say, Steve, get your degree, go to work for a large corporation.

You work hard.

They'll take care of you, and you will have a great career.

Of course, he also used to say, except your mother

and I would much prefer that you become a doctor or a lawyer, but getting a job at a large

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