adamstober's comments

adamstober | 8 years ago | on: Accelerated interviews for fired employees

Would love to learn from data if you have any to back that up. From what we've seen, top reasons that determine who gets laid off include those who: 1) get paid well (the layoff is a desperate cost-cutting measure) 2) are randomly selected (the company is acknowledging that layoffs are not performance-related) 3) either got hired most recently or have most tenure (an attempt to reward longtime employees or respect those who just joined)

adamstober | 8 years ago | on: Accelerated interviews for fired employees

Thank you for asking. We Googled "layoffs vs firing", and got the following from Susan P. Joyce on Job-Hunt.org:

"Being laid off is NOT the same as being fired because it is not considered to be the fault of the employee. It is, actually, the fault of the employer. A layoff is often called a "reduction in force" or "down-sizing." ... This is often the reason that more highly-paid employees seem to be on the layoff candidate list."

Here's an article from Jan 2016 listing many VC-backed startups that laid employees off: https://techcrunch.com/2016/01/08/burn-slower-or-vaporize/

Here's a newer article from this year that also lists different VC-backed startups that laid people off: https://venturebeat.com/2017/01/14/early-layoffs-and-closure...

All the while, the tech scene and general economy have been growing. Layoffs in tech are a byproduct of the accelerated lifecycle of VC-fueled startups, leaving unsuspecting employees to unexpectedly look for a new job without having one, wasting valuable time and earning potential.

Existing job-search processes usually take months from kickoff to signing, as it takes time to both find the right fit and move through a company's various interview steps. Our platform will address the first problem by broadly circulating candidates to hiring startups that want to know about newly-available talent, and we address the second problem by incentivizing employers to compete on speed of interview process. If they don't, they'll simply lose these local, experienced candidates to some other firm.

Layoff-Aid only accepts candidates affected by layoffs from SF tech startups.

Let me know how I can clarify further.

adamstober | 8 years ago | on: Accelerated interviews for fired employees

Founder here. We don't deal with fired. We connect people from SF startups affected by layoffs with local startups that can hire quickly. Getting laid off != getting fired. Recruiters want our candidates, but don't otherwise know how to snag them.

adamstober | 9 years ago | on: Poll: Would you voluntarily 'pay it forward' on a free online dating service?

Thanks for the feedback. Agree that there needs to be some exploration to making it work, and I think the idea of asking for contingent pledges is an interesting one! In one form or another, I don't see why free online services (dating or otherwise) don't periodically and methodically prompt users for contributions a little more often.

Wikipedia outright asks for donations, and certain mobile apps already ask highly engaged users to rate the app. Extending that to the next level would simply shift the prompt from "Donate to our non-profit" (Wikipedia) or "Rate this app?" (free iOS or Android app) to "Support our (free, for-profit) service with $?"

adamstober | 10 years ago | on: Udacity Connect – Face-to-face learning

Interesting! I presume this has a cost? And how would attendance work? Would I get to go as many times as I want during a given week/month?

Adding a "live" component could be a great addition to nanodegrees. When trying to complete these online courses, self-motivation is often as big a challenge as the content, if not more. A mentor and/or "study buddies" could solve that problem.

(Note: I'm currently enrolled in Udacity's Full Stack Web Dev nanodegree)

adamstober | 13 years ago | on: iPhone 5 review

Sometimes it's worth skipping the new software entirely. I think my old iPhone 3G could have been the last phone running iOS3 when I finally upgraded to the 4S. I refused to "upgrade" an iPhone 3G to iOS4 and burden the phone with an OS that the hardware couldn't handle.

As far as the article goes, I wonder why Engadget didn't list the new maps as a con. Certainly sounds like one, even in their own words.

adamstober | 13 years ago | on: Show HN: Mystery Gift Machine

Seeking feedback on the site and votes in TechCocktail's "Boston's Hottest Showcase Startup" Poll http://j.mp/NlZiqQ

We launched a new site this morning and are near 1st in voting against all odds (we have 30 Twitter followers @MrEGiftMachine versus 3,000+ for our competition).

Can HN push us over the finish line?

adamstober | 13 years ago | on: Introducing Drag and Drop Uploading

I can't help but comment here... on the marketing.

Making the comparison to Dropbox steers people to evaluate the service in comparison to one of the best out there.

I'd instead just explain why corkboard is great on its own merits. Claiming to be "easier than Dropbox" is probably effective at grabbing eyeballs but I'd question if it's the best strategy to acquire actual users.

adamstober | 15 years ago | on: Chile Wants to Borrow US Entrepreneurs for $40,000

First-time poster, go easy on me!

Lowering taxes may be better from a textbook economics perspective but this is creative real-world marketing that has already been somewhat effective simply by generating so many headlines.

I'm just one data point but I would have not considered Chile as a potential base for a small venture I'm working on otherwise. Now I will likely apply for this program and keep Chile in mind for future reference. I recognize most people aren't as geographically flexible as I am but the opportunity to spend time in Chile and speak Spanish sounds exciting to me.