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ARLINGTON, Va. — Thousands of America's venture capital-backed startup companies are bucking the job-cutting trend and actively seeking new employees, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and the job board StartUpHire.com. said Monday.

The two groups created what they are calling their Help Wanted Initiative to kick off Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Despite mounting job losses nationwide, StartUpHire lists nearly 11,000 jobs available at more than 2,500 companies across various industries, states, and job functions.

As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009, the NVCA and StartUpHire will highlight the contributions of that young, entrepreneurial companies make to economic growth.

The will be:

• Releasing jobs data by geography, industry, and job function on both websites throughout the week.
• Creating a permanent link from the NVCA Web site to the StartUpHire website so that job seekers can easily connect to openings at venture-backed companies.
• Publishing testimonials from startup company employees on their work experiences – all in 140 characters or less. (To submit your start-up story, please visit the stories submission Web site by Wednesday.)

The two organizations first partnered to report venture-backed job availability in early 2009. The job listings on StartUpHire represent an important segment of the total jobs at venture-backed companies nationwide, they said.

"Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrates the risk-taking, innovative thinking, and passion that drive entrepreneurs to build sustainable companies," said Mark Heesen, NVCA president.

"A significant factor of entrepreneurial success is hiring the right people, a tenet for which venture capitalists have a daily appreciation. This week we join the rest of the world in formally honoring those employees who take the risks necessary to grow our startup community and build the U.S. entrepreneurial economy," Heesen added.

"It should be noted that the value of StartUpHire goes beyond the actual job listings. These companies are not only creating jobs, but they are doing so in the industries that will keep America competitive both economically and technologically," said Steve Fredrick, a partner in Grotech Ventures and a founder of StartUpHire. "Start-up companies engender an entrepreneurial culture that lives long after the early days, often inspiring employees to spin out and create entirely new companies with what they have learned,"

You can visit the NVCA and StartUpHire Web sites each day this week to see more details about job availability at venture-backed companies:

• Tuesday – venture-backed job openings in each state and region
• Wednesday – venture-backed job openings parsed by industry
• Thursday – venture-backed job openings listed by function (marketing, sales, etc.)
• Friday – release of start-up "short stories": 140 character testimonials from venture-backed employers and employees

The NVCA represents more than 400 venture capital firms in the United States. It's mission is to foster greater understanding of the importance of venture capital to the U.S. economy and to support entrepreneurial activity and innovation. According to a 2009 Global Insight study, venture-backed companies accounted for 12.1 million jobs and $2.9 trillion in revenue in the U.S. in 2008.

The NVCA represents the public policy interests of the venture-capital community, strives to maintain high professional standards, provides reliable industry data, sponsors professional development, and facilitates interaction among its members.

StartUpHire is the job-search engine dedicated to recruiting exceptional talent to jobs at venture capital-backed companies. Its mission is to connect talented individuals to exciting career opportunities at venture-backed startups and to accelerate the team-building process for companies and their investors. StartUpHire sponsors include Argy, Comerica, Calysto, Cooley, DLA, GlobalLogic, MMV Financial, Morrison Foerster, New Venture Communications, SIIA, and Sonnenschein.

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