BobJS · HackerTrans

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

Are you using the monaco editor? If so please enable the autoClosingBrackets:

```js

monaco.editor.create(document.getElementById('container'), {

    value: 'const myVar = hello',

    language: 'javascript',

    autoClosingBrackets: 'always'  // <--- This

});

```

When I highlight "hello world" and press ', I want to see "'hello world'" instead of "'"

All that aside, awesome project

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

You can't buy individual debts. They come in large portfolios of thousands of accounts.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

I wrote it like 8 years ago dude

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

Did I say that? I don't recall writing that. It's just credit markets really. Not all that interesting. Most people just don't think about them.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

Lots of sending out letters and making phone calls. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to automate the process but the industry refuses to modernize.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

I left because I fell in love with building software and I hated debt collections.

The financial literacy angle is interesting but there's an even arguably more predatory industry around credit repair. People tend to stop caring about their credit until there's a life event like wanting to buy a house. Then they only care until the score hits 640.

Arguably Credit Karma uses credit scores and credit literacy as the hook which is probably a loss-leader because they need to pay for the scores.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

I'm very skeptical about debt cancellation because if there was a way to make it into a business, it'd be a business. The people who talk about doing that all lose money as a charity, or they're sovereign citizens who think they found some tax loophole.

The credit bureau thing is funny because again, ethically you should but once you do you open yourself up to a LOT more liability. So most agencies won't unless it's an in-house agency for CapitalOne or something.

You as the consumer should always dispute everything on your credit report every so often.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

It depends on the age of the debt and how many agencies it's been through. Medical debt is also much harder to pursue legally if need be, plus everyone hates the guys who sue medical debtors. So I never worked with it.

But I'd guess that direct from the client would be 8%, 1 agency ~1 year old debt would probably cost 5%, 2 agency 2 year old debt probably about 2% and then down to 1% and 75bps after that.

A lot of times you don't turn a profit working zeros. You barely make your money back and then turn a profit reselling it. Small margins but easier to work. Happier employees.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

We had low liquidation but we went through accounts fast. So clients didn't like us. Banks would rather pass off debt to an agency that will threaten people and liquidate higher. So overall, no but I had a solid run.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

Because you can't prove a negative. I can never prove that you didn't pay something but you can prove that you have. As an agency, you're operating from a spreadsheet that Discover or B of A sends you. The consumer needs to keep good records until we get some sort of centralized database.

A centralized DB will probably never happen. Different states can't even agree on collection laws.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

It's a legitimate need, it's just a corrupted industry because of misaligned incentives. We need some form of debt collections otherwise credit couldn't exist. The problem is that regulations are absolutely inconsistent and don't incentivize people to operate ethically. It's a regulatory problem.

An interesting fact is that a lot of agencies buy debt for about 1 cent on the dollar and liquidate around 2%. Collecting debt is actually very hard and the success rates are super low.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

I probably have. I've been out of the industry since 2019 and I tend to create a lot of content. Since that is currently how I align I'd be surprised if I haven't done that somewhere.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

This article leads a lot of people who want to break into the industry to reach out to me and I turn everyone away. Once I tell them what they can expect they're rarely still interested.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

I can answer any specific questions anybody has but basically, I landed in the industry by chance and got good at automating the collection process. I never had the backbone to strong arm people so I played the numbers game. Technology was my advantage.

Meanwhile, all of my peers were getting rich running unlicensed agencies and lying to debtors. I was getting sued constantly for following the rules. I'd win the lawsuits but it would cost me as much as $30k to fight them.

I employed over 500 people over about 8 years, many of them stole from me, overdosed, or ended up in jail because debt collectors tend to be troubled people. I shifted my focus to building software for the debt industry and went through a startup accelerator. That's when I fell in love with software and sold my agency.

Other than that, I'll answer any specific questions.

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

Gladly

BobJS

3 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

I wrote this article years ago. I can't believe it's on HN today. As someone who spent almost a decade trying to run as ethical an agency as possible, I realized that there's no room for people who want to operate the right way.

I could go on for days about all of the crazy stuff I saw while I was involved but leaving the debt industry was the best decision I ever made. Terrible industry, terrible people.

BobJS

5 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

Anybody who has ever worked in finance or any number of Finance adjacent industries realizes how easily accessible social Security numbers actually are. Anyone can sign up for a skip tracing service or an identity validation service and reverse search a name and City to find your social security number if they want to.

It's probably time to replace the old social security number system.

BobJS

5 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

  Location: New York & San Francisco
  Remote: Yes (Preferred)
  Willing to relocate:  No
  
  Technologies (Professional): Node.js, Express, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Next.js, Node.js, Vue.js, Vuetify, Vuex, Firebase, Firestore, MongoDB, MySQL, Postgres, Docker, GCP, REST API, Linux/Bash/Shell
  
  Technologies (Casual): Golang, C++, GraphQL, Hasura, Svelte, Elixir, Deno
  
  Résumé/CV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lnNB22DNZ8HjwflJi-H6qtM2Xa919olG/view?usp=sharing
  
  Email: bob[at]bbass[dot]co
  
  Portfolio/Profile: GitHub.com/716green

My name is Bob, I'm a full-stack developer. I built a SaaS product in the alternative finance space bringing the product from 0 to 1 single handedly before hiring my first developer. I've decided that I'm only concerned in becoming the best engineer I can be and I don't want the distraction of running a startup. I'm motivated, driven, flexible, and willing to wear several hats to help someone else's startup succeed. I'm singularly focused on building awesome web applications - mostly within the larger JS ecosystem.

I'm well versed in Alternative Finance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Startups, Investing, and I've personally employed over 400 people.

The reason I want to work for a different startup is because I'm tired of making business decisions. I want to focus on code, building products, and working collaboratively with a team.

BobJS

5 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

This is unreal. Evan is a true visionary. My money is on Vue long-term over the other popular frameworks. Most JavaScript developers are probably fond of most frameworks, but I like them all for different reasons. Vue is the one I personally enjoy the most.

This is an exciting. It reminds me of when he released Vite.

BobJS

6 ปีที่แล้วdiscuss

Same here, I genuinely want my family members to try it because the experience is so much better than the description can really express.

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