Arram followed the advice I normally give people applying to startups for non-technical jobs that have no relevant experience: he prepared tremendously for his interview and actually came with real suggestions on things we should do, and visualized himself in the position. On paper, he wasn't someone we would have considered (his previous experience was as a security guard and ice cream scooper with no college degree). But, out of all the candidates, Arram was the only one who had prepared as if he had already gotten the job and was going over first steps.
We actually ended up hiring someone else as the community manager, but I was impressed with Arram and wanted to find a place for him at Justin.tv, so we created the "grab bag of unwanted tasks." While he fluctuated between doing those things well and sometimes not as well, he became a contributing member of the team.
Because we were paying Arram not so much, I told him he should start doing the lunch ordering for a few friends' companies for some side cash, and pretty soon after he came to me and told me he was quitting.
Out of all the people who have "graduated" from Justin.tv, I'm most proud of Arram. His drive to start a company is incredible, and he's done it despite the odds. Proud to say I'm an investor in ZeroCater and I think he's going to make me some money as well.
Reading inspiring stories like this makes me realize how much of entrepreneurship is about taking risks rather than hard work. Moving to another place with a few thousand dollars in your pocket, quitting a stable job without a firm idea in mind, figuring things out as you go.
There may have been dozens of well prepared and hard working candidates available that day, but probably none were out of job and interviewing for Justin.tv at the time Arram was. There are also always tons of people working at perfectly great jobs, but a very few of us have the gut to stop working and forge a company built on nothing but determination to succeed.
Bang on. I would probably extend it to include the email-first startup strategy that was posted here by Sachin of Posterous fame a while ago.
Since ZeroCater provides a physical service to companies and is located in SF Bay Area with a uniquely high density of companies it probably doesn’t apply here, but I can imagine some form of a computerized sign up is needed for other MVPs.
A Startup has nothing to do with a 'node.js/RoR/GoOnSkis/etc' stack or computes. The association is statistical rather than structural.
The business comes first.
Of course programming helps and saves pain. But my money is on the business knowledge first.
Yes, the 'computer people' like to bash the business people, and it is often true that sometimes they have bad ideas or act like they know the business when they don't. This is like the tech specialists thinking a product will sell only based on its tech specs.
I've been in the Valley for around 15 years, and I'm not someone that revels in job perks. Sure everyone loves perks, but I prefer a great work environment, and interesting work, etc, over things like snacks, X-boxes, etc.
That being said, my current employer has Zerocater and I freaking love it more than any other perk in any job I've had. Sure, maybe 1 out of every 5 meals isn't a winner, but I still really really love it. I wouldn't come close to quitting my job if we couldn't afford Zerocater anymore, but I would be sorely disappointed, because the convenience of having food brought to us, the high quality, and the great amount of variety is something that I really appreciate.
Actually THIS is why I love HN, because it gives me access to data like this comment, which while anecdotal, helps me validate my idea. My guess is that most perks businesses offer mean NOTHING to their employees but that there are perks out there that would.
I had zero idea of what that company was about and only clicked on it out of idle curiosity that it made the front of HN.
Seriously, that was one of the most inspirational things I have read.
In another thread, someone mentioned the idea of a "valuable problem." Find one of those to solve and you will make money. And dahyum what that company solves is a valuable problem and how he started was so low-tech that it should be embarrassing to everyone who thinks they must have X-Y-and-Z to go.
Napoleon Hill said, "Start where you are with what you have." That guy did. And killed it. Good for him!
It occurred to me as I was writing another comment about how much I love ZeroCater that they might be the perfect fit for what I'm trying to build right now. I've started validating and getting Beta customers for a personalized perks program where people don't get a set group of company0wide perks, but instead get them personalized to what makes them a happier and more fulfilled person. I've been trying to figure out the catering problem, because I don't actually want to CREATE any perks, but instead partner with people that already fulfill things that would be considered perks. Catering is definitely the one I have the hardest time imagining managing.
Is this an appropriate place to ask if anyone thinks ZeroCater would be interested in being the fulfiller for catering for that system and/or they could ask Arram or the appropriate person what they think? (email = [email protected])
That idea sounds exactly like BetterWorks, a Los Angeles-based company that shut down earlier this year. BetterWorks offered companies a way to offer customized perks on a per employee basis by giving each employee an "allowance" to use on whatever combination of perks they wanted.
The problem, in a nutshell, was that the idea didn't scale. They needed two sets of salespeople: one for the customers, and one for the perks providers. Customers were difficult to acquire because many were dubious about limited "perks" to a small set of providers. Obviously, this meant that BW needed a lot of perks providers. However, the perks providers were even harder to reach, as many of them had no need to try yet another customer outreach opportunty demanding X% for little to no work. Moreover, perks providers were frequently not the only providers in a particular area, so discounting competition eroded prices, lowering the income realized through this method of customer acquisition, and thus the benefit of using BW.
I've heard some pretty terrible stories about the vegetarian options offered by ZeroCater. It seems that many times they give the omnivores a full meal and then the vegetarian meal is the same meal without the meat, meaning it contains virtually no protein.
I'm not a vegetarian, but I am sensitive to other people's preferences. Has the situation changed lately?
I am the lead developer at ZeroCater, was a vegetarian for 3 of the last 4 years, and I can honestly say I that never had access to vegetarian lunch options remotely close to the variety and quality we provide to our clients.
We currently offer 4335 vegetarian options from 190 vendors, ranging from a Quinoa Salad with Green Apple, Crumbled Gorgonzola Blue Cheese, Candied Walnut and Organic Baby Spinach to a Roasted Pepper and Mushroom Calzone or Green Chile Mac & Cheese.
Our most common complaint from vegetarians isn't the lack of options; it's that the omnivores took all of the vegetarian food before they got to it.
Very inspirational and fascinating account that is probably worth a movie and a book on entrepreneurship. Also reminds me of the trademill quote by Will Smith http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doqS35FfcUE. One side note here is also the net risk Arram actually took. He is a single guy without dependents and health insurance to worry about. Without college degree and other specific skills he really had little to lose in terms of other lucrative job offers on hand, for example, compared to a Harvard PHD in CS with a wife and two children would have. That scenario ironically simplifies lot of complexities around for pursuing entrepreneurship.
Sounds like great execution, but one thing I find remarkable that of all the talk here of 'the internet is going to cut out out the middleman', and most business plans being build on that, this business is basically about adding a middle man where historically none existed (because of slim margins). Quite neat to see it work out so well - it seems a middle man can add value, even if that added value seems small at first sight.
Thanks for sharing your story Arram. I'm going to be making this a required reading for my college students. Most of the time, young people are advised to find stability and to be level-headed about their goals, and in the process lose their passion. This is reminder that to succeed, you need to be bold, creative, and energetic.
My brief but meaningful interaction with Arram and the team at ZeroCater was nothing short of exceptional. Exceptional care for their service and customer, exceptional determination and conviction. They are an intensely likeable people.
Just for the record, I remember ZeroCater's demo day and it seemed like they were already off and running without needing to raise more money. At least that was the feeling I got when listening in the crowd.
[+] [-] justin|13 years ago|reply
We actually ended up hiring someone else as the community manager, but I was impressed with Arram and wanted to find a place for him at Justin.tv, so we created the "grab bag of unwanted tasks." While he fluctuated between doing those things well and sometimes not as well, he became a contributing member of the team.
Because we were paying Arram not so much, I told him he should start doing the lunch ordering for a few friends' companies for some side cash, and pretty soon after he came to me and told me he was quitting.
Out of all the people who have "graduated" from Justin.tv, I'm most proud of Arram. His drive to start a company is incredible, and he's done it despite the odds. Proud to say I'm an investor in ZeroCater and I think he's going to make me some money as well.
[+] [-] ultimoo|13 years ago|reply
There may have been dozens of well prepared and hard working candidates available that day, but probably none were out of job and interviewing for Justin.tv at the time Arram was. There are also always tons of people working at perfectly great jobs, but a very few of us have the gut to stop working and forge a company built on nothing but determination to succeed.
[+] [-] _lex|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jmduke|13 years ago|reply
A bank account and a Google Docs spreadsheet. That's MVP.
[+] [-] ultimoo|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] raverbashing|13 years ago|reply
A Startup has nothing to do with a 'node.js/RoR/GoOnSkis/etc' stack or computes. The association is statistical rather than structural.
The business comes first.
Of course programming helps and saves pain. But my money is on the business knowledge first.
Yes, the 'computer people' like to bash the business people, and it is often true that sometimes they have bad ideas or act like they know the business when they don't. This is like the tech specialists thinking a product will sell only based on its tech specs.
[+] [-] snowwrestler|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] w1ntermute|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] steven2012|13 years ago|reply
That being said, my current employer has Zerocater and I freaking love it more than any other perk in any job I've had. Sure, maybe 1 out of every 5 meals isn't a winner, but I still really really love it. I wouldn't come close to quitting my job if we couldn't afford Zerocater anymore, but I would be sorely disappointed, because the convenience of having food brought to us, the high quality, and the great amount of variety is something that I really appreciate.
[+] [-] tomasien|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pchivers|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mikecane|13 years ago|reply
Seriously, that was one of the most inspirational things I have read.
In another thread, someone mentioned the idea of a "valuable problem." Find one of those to solve and you will make money. And dahyum what that company solves is a valuable problem and how he started was so low-tech that it should be embarrassing to everyone who thinks they must have X-Y-and-Z to go.
Napoleon Hill said, "Start where you are with what you have." That guy did. And killed it. Good for him!
[+] [-] tomasien|13 years ago|reply
Is this an appropriate place to ask if anyone thinks ZeroCater would be interested in being the fulfiller for catering for that system and/or they could ask Arram or the appropriate person what they think? (email = [email protected])
[+] [-] gamblor956|13 years ago|reply
The problem, in a nutshell, was that the idea didn't scale. They needed two sets of salespeople: one for the customers, and one for the perks providers. Customers were difficult to acquire because many were dubious about limited "perks" to a small set of providers. Obviously, this meant that BW needed a lot of perks providers. However, the perks providers were even harder to reach, as many of them had no need to try yet another customer outreach opportunty demanding X% for little to no work. Moreover, perks providers were frequently not the only providers in a particular area, so discounting competition eroded prices, lowering the income realized through this method of customer acquisition, and thus the benefit of using BW.
[+] [-] tansey|13 years ago|reply
I'm not a vegetarian, but I am sensitive to other people's preferences. Has the situation changed lately?
[+] [-] dpiers|13 years ago|reply
We currently offer 4335 vegetarian options from 190 vendors, ranging from a Quinoa Salad with Green Apple, Crumbled Gorgonzola Blue Cheese, Candied Walnut and Organic Baby Spinach to a Roasted Pepper and Mushroom Calzone or Green Chile Mac & Cheese.
Our most common complaint from vegetarians isn't the lack of options; it's that the omnivores took all of the vegetarian food before they got to it.
[+] [-] sytelus|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] roel_v|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|13 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] marianne_navada|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kayz|13 years ago|reply
My brief but meaningful interaction with Arram and the team at ZeroCater was nothing short of exceptional. Exceptional care for their service and customer, exceptional determination and conviction. They are an intensely likeable people.
All the best Arram!
[+] [-] mrwhy2k|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Mz|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jeremyjh|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] michaeltsai|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scrambam|13 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] michaeltsai|13 years ago|reply
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