Within one week of announcing on LinkedIn that he was open to work, Clark Dever’s post had over 90 comments and more than 9,000 impressions.
It's a perfect illustration of Dever's impact on the local startup scene and his continuing involvement here.
“The network I’ve built has given me the freedom to take these risks,” he said. “The community will support me. That’s been my operating model for a long time, and I think it’s really important.”
Dever moved from Buffalo to Austin last year predominantly for personal reasons and took a role with an Arizona-based technology company. He also provides paid advisory services as well as informal mentorship to startups, including Buffalo-based businesses. He has been working with Jordan Walbesser on BootSector, which Jack Greco is also involved in, to run a nonprofit that supports the local grassroots technology scene.
After his Arizona employer eliminated his role earlier this year, Dever has continued to work with founders. (About 65% of his phone calls are from the Buffalo startup community.) As he contemplates his next move, he expects to either work at a bigger, more mature company helping with innovation capabilities or to end up at another startup, specifically an unnamed business (not connected to Buffalo) that he’s been advising.
He won’t be moving back to Buffalo, but his commitment to the startup community here hasn’t changed.
“I’m militantly optimistic about the future,” he said. “I think business, technology and innovation will get us there.”
Space has further shown him the speed at which the local startup scene continues to grow. There are many founders and companies that come up that he’s never heard of before.
“It’s harder to see when you live there,” he said.
Next up, he’d like to see different silos of the community come together, from universities to grassroots and state organizations.
On his part, he wants to connect the Austin and Buffalo tech markets long term. Since moving to Texas, Dever has been focused on his health more than networking and engaging in the local tech scene.
“You have to take care of your health, physical or mental,” he said. “That’s something that doesn’t get talked about a lot in the business community as a whole.”
For others seeking employment, he offered the following tips:
- Employers want to hire people who love what they do. For those looking for jobs, show what you are passionate about by continuing to work and sharpen your skills, even if that means volunteering in your spare time.
- When applying for a job, ask behavioral-based questions during your interview to get a better understanding of the company culture. "They can put whatever values on their website, but do they live them?" said Dever.
- Figure out where you want to work and use tools like LinkedIn to network and meet people. Do you know someone who knows someone who can introduce you to the right hiring manager? "That technique is make or break," he said.
