u/Competitive-Prior385

I’m building a startup in the career space. It’s early: first paying customer. Not raising yet, but I like to understand the landscape before I need it.

For founders who have raised pre-seed or angel round: where/ how did you find your first angels (networks, intros, events, platforms)? And what traction did they expect to see first?

A while back my team had a role open for months. The applicants who stood out in conversation were often people from adjacent fields, clearly capable, just no direct title match. Most got filtered out before anyone even spoke to them, purely because the resume didn't line up.

So, honestly, from inside HR:

• Do career switchers realistically stand a chance, or does "no direct experience" quietly kill most of them at screening?
• Would your organization ever pay a recruiter to source for strong career switchers specifically with transferable skills? or is that just not budgeted for?

Curious how this actually looks from your side. Thanks.

Hey founders,

I'm a first-time founder building my own startup, not incorporated yet, still in the validation phase.

I've got the chance to bring on a mentor who's experienced and well-established in mentoring startups. The offer would be advisory equity in exchange for his guidance.

Here's where I'm stuck: should I engage him now, at the validation stage? Or should I wait until I've actually validated my start up idea, then bring him on?

• Engage now, what's the upside of having him this early?
• Wait, what would you want to figure out on your own first?

For anyone who's been through this exact stage, I'd love to hear how it played out for you. Thanks in advance.

Hi guys, I'm a solo founder from SG. I need some advice to validate my business idea asap without getting ban by moderators/ reddit here.

I need to talk to 20 people or less, to see if there is a pattern.

My question is which one of the approaches should i take (so that i don't get ban here).

1. Post my specific ask in my target audience group here, specifically saying that i am currently doing research and would like to hear from them, eg what are their biggest challenge etc. over here or for a quick 5 mins call.

or

2. Play the long waiting game, by commenting inside my target audience group on their individual post, and try to get them to either DM me, or i will ask if they are open for me to DM them as i am currently doing research about those area.

In addition, after i validate my idea. Should i try to get some paying customers first before looking for investors? no product is build yet on my side, and im in the SaaS business.

Please let me know which of the method above works for you guys, and im open to any other suggestions/advice too.

Thank you!

Whether you're thinking about switching careers here in SG, or you already made the jump. I'd love to hear how it's actually going, and I think the answers could help everyone here to learn from each other.

1. Are you currently a career switcher, or already made the switch?
2. What's actually blocking you?
3. What has it cost you so far, money, time, confidence, anything?
4. What would make switching careers feel slightly easier for you?
5. If you've tried anything to help, a course, a coach, a tool, a community. What did you try, and did it actually help?

Feel free to swap advice with each other in the comments too.

For anyone who's switched careers in SG (or is trying to). What was the hardest part? Breaking through the "no direct experience" wall, taking the pay cut, or just the silence after applying?

I made a switch myself and it was rougher than I expected, so I'm digging into why it's so hard and whether others hit the same walls.

If you've been through it, I'd really like to hear your story, what you moved from → to, and what got in the way. Drop it in the comments, or if you'd rather keep it private, comment and I'll PM you.

I've also put together a short (2-3 mins) survey to structure this — comment and I'll share it. Not selling anything, and I'll post back what I find.

Trying to break into a new industry but keep getting rejected because you don't have direct experience in that field? I help career switchers in Singapore land interviews for their dream jobs, without needing to start from scratch. First 5 spots only, drop a comment or PM me directly here, I'll reach out to shortlisted individuals personally.