Carolyn, it is hard to answer without knowing your background (i.e., without seeing your CV), but many roads can lead to becoming a startup specialist. Without knowing your background (and making some assumptions about what type of role you currently have)…if you already hold a job in the industry, consider starting out by volunteering your time with whomever performs the startup specialist tasks in your company.

Yep – volunteer. Or shadow. Don’t abandon your day job, but volunteer to participate in what goes on within the role and then knock their socks off.