The idea is that some people can figure out most of this before applying and, for those people, hustlebee will simplify the process significantly. I don't expect that everyone will apply to jobs via us but I hope that we can provide a channel for those candidates who are extremely committed to a position to get an employer's attention without having to do the recruiting dance.
Because if you apply to a company through us, are accepted, and don't go through with it we won't allow you to apply to other companies through us. This makes it so that companies can actually trust the service to get committed candidates as opposed to just candidates who, if they applied via a similar service that was listed directly on the site, had no recourse if they didn't go through with the position.
I wanted to start with startups because they have the most difficulty finding candidates and have the least resources in terms of recruiters/HR/etc to help. YC has a great list of awesome startups so I figured they would be a good jumping off point. I may expand later but I'm not sure how/when that will happen.
1) I'll be sending applications to companies and they can choose whether or not to interview candidates.
2) I haven't figured out specifics but I'll probably charge companies that successfully make hires through us something similar to what they'd pay via employee referrals.
3) Hustlebee is better than applying directly because companies will treat you as a more serious candidate (just like if you were to create a website dedicated to why you want to work for a company). This streamlines the process for people that REALLY want to work for a company and cuts down on the number of applicants that companies need to vet and the number of companies that people need to apply to.
4) I decided to start with designers/engineers because those appear to be the positions in highest demand right now. I may expand to other positions later but haven't yet decided exactly how I'll go about doing that.
Yeah definitely the next blog post will be about how I launched the page/what I'm using in terms of tech. I am probably as non-technical as they get...I've been reading HN for a while now but have done no db programming before and my skills are limited to front-end stuff (read the blog post at http://www.hustlebee.posterous.com if you want to know more about my background).
Re: the required field, the goal of the site is to have people commit to take the position upfront. This is what makes it valuable because it allows companies to cut down on time spent trying to gauge how committed their applicants are.
The site was inspired by iwannaworkatinstagram.com. I want to build a recruiting tool that makes it easier for people to get hired by companies that they're really passionate about working for. Check the blog at http://www.hustlebee.posterous.com for more on my journey and where I'd like to go with this.
To me the most interesting thing about his life is the fact that the bulk of his life/spending decisions are based on the needs or perceived needs of others (his wife, kids, other partners at his firm). The guy has basically been enslaved by other people's perceptions of him. I wonder what would happen if he lost his job...
I actually agree that prices may be inflated/overhyped but the lack of specificity in Buffett's statement kind of irks me. He doesn't even define what a social network is (Facebook, Zynga, and Groupon are all remarkably different companies and not everyone would consider all of them to be social networks).
He's a brilliant investor but at the end of the day statements made without any indication of real analysis or research should be taken with a grain of salt...even from the Oracle of Omaha.
If its a big space with lots of potential people will try to fill it. Remember, people build the future, it doesn't just "happen." All these services and large funding rounds are just proving that photosharing is a big unsolved space (just like group buying, LBS, social networks, search engines, online retailers, computer manufacturers, operating systems...). Relax and let the market do its thing. Or jump into the market. But please don't complain about the way innovation works.
This actually sounds wonderful. I think a lot of entrepreneurs would actually find that extremely helpful. It would be great to get an e-mail out of the blue from someone who heard my team's pitch n months ago and was genuinely interested in how far along we'd come and if we'd met the goals we had in mind then. Startup idea? Goalcheck.com?