How nontechnical talent can break into deep tech

Jessica LiContributorShare on TwitterJessica is on the growth marketing team at Zageno, a multivendor, online marketplace for life science products, and is head of content at Elpha, a Y Combinator-backed community of 40,000+ women in tech. More posts by this contributor

• 4 strategies for deep tech startups recruiting top growth marketers
• 4 strategies for deep tech founders who are fundraising

In a recent article, I shared more about how deep tech companies can hire growth talent. Here, I explore the other side: how nontechnical talent can build relationships with deep tech companies.

Startup hiring processes can be opaque, and breaking into the deep tech world as a nontechnical person seems daunting. As someone with no initial research background wanting to work in biotech, I felt this challenge personally. In the past year, I landed several opportunities working for and with deep tech companies.

Here, I'll share what I've learned and offer tactical advice for finding, reaching out to, cultivating relationships with and working at deep tech companies as a nontechnical candidate.

To find these companies, create news alerts to be notified when companies in deep tech raise new rounds of funding.

Find companies by tracking fundraising

After startups raise capital, they are ready to spend the new funds on hiring. These companies are more likely to be posting new roles and actively hiring for a wide range of different teams, including nontechnical groups.