A CEO says neither your salary nor job title is most crucial to building wealth in your 20s

Courtesy of Adam Nash

A hefty paycheck doesn't guarantee long-term wealth.

"Most people fail to realize that in life, it's not how much money you make. It's how much money you keep," writes Robert Kiyosaki in the personal-finance classic, "Rich Dad Poor Dad."

That doesn't mean your job doesn't matter.

"When you think long term, the company you join is far more important in your 20s than the specific compensation or role," says Adam Nash, president and CEO of online investing platform Wealthfront. 

While salary and job title are important factors to consider when job searching, he says it's crucial to find companies that will effectively set you up for long-term success — specifically, fast growing companies.

"Knowing what I now know about the importance your career path has in determining long term financial success, I'm a huge believer that people in their 20s should seek out opportunities at later-stage, hypergrowth companies," Nash told Business Insider.

If you join a fast growing company, you will likely be promoted faster because of the demands within such a company, Nash explains. What's more, the company is still small enough that you can be exposed to — and learn from — a variety of functions within the business, something that's nearly impossible to do at a bigger, more established company.

Set yourself up for success by carefully evaluating where you're going to work, rather than focusing on the compensation or nuts and bolts of the job description, he advises — and the money will come.

Start by looking at Wealthfront's list of companies that are great to launch your career, based on projected growth. It includes 136 companies — such as Birchbox, Blue Apron, Minted, NerdWallet, and Pintrest — with revenues between $20 million and $300 million that are on a trajectory to grow at a rate in excess of 50% over at least the next four years.

NOW WATCH: Major airlines are introducing ‘last class’ — a category worse than coach