Yep I am specifically focused on small to medium sized companies. Large companies already universally already have giant enterprise HR systems installed as is anyway.
Elevator Pitch: Hiring is a pain in the ass, juggling resumes and getting feedback from interviews, dealing with PDFs and Word Docs and keeping track of who interviewed for what. Dropjobs streamlines the entire process from posting jobs on your website to reviewing and managing the applicants who apply for your positions.
So, caveats right out of the door. Yes, of course someone "did it before". Applicant tracking systems have been around for quite a long time. However there are a few things that we're differentiating on:
1) Up front, easy, cheap pricing. No sales people. Most heavy ATS systems I looked at require you to call a phone number to find out how much it costs.
2) Simple. Does this one thing and thats it -- so we're targeting the people who don't want a taleo hire-to-fire HR enterprise solution.
3) Has an embedded widget for letting people apply for your jobs straight from your own website.
4) Uses scribd to display people's resumes directly in the Dropjobs website, so you aren't constantly downloading and opening adobe acrobat and crap like that.
I think the market is there. It's good enough that I've launched it as a 1.0, so... any advice on next steps? Should I just drop a few grand on advertising? Unfortunately the world of hiring and HR management isn't all "web2.0" and glitzy, so I feel it will be hard to build any buzz through traditional social media channels.
I don't think you should be too worried about it. You've got a pretty loyal (and decently sized) user base. Plus all your existing users have their content tied to your site, so don't go writing any data export features that would even allow them to jump ship.
Its probably a hard pill to swallow, but you said it yourself: they know who you are, they've never approached you, and they are writing their own. Conclusion: for whatever asinine reasons, they've determined consciously that buying OP isn't in their best interests. You courting them isn't going to change that scenario.
I love how articles like this give the general public the perception that software development is akin to getting something heavy off of a tall shelf. Its okay if YOU can't do it, just find someone tall to do it for you, and viola, you'll make a million dollars.
"If you are a UI/UX guru and/or a strong coder with PHP, Java, Flex, .NET, Ruby/Rails, or Javascript skills"
Students looking to learn new skills are not "gurus". And gurus do not work for free.
Considering all the hurdles that a 3 month startup has to overcome, is it really prudent to be taking on greenhorn 2nd year students looking for internships? They've got 3 months to get a finished product out the door, they need rockstars to make it happen, not unpaid interns.
The point of these programs is to trade mentorship and money to technically competent teams in exchange for equity. If the startups are then turning around needing technical assistance from the get go, what exactly are they bringing to the table other than an MBA and an idea?
What I find the most ridiculous about the comments in this thread about the "prejudice" people have experienced in Atlanta is that the prejudice cited was coming from places like... people on marta trains.
Really? What people on a subway say to you has a bearing on a startup?
If we're going to have a discussion about having a startup in Atlanta, we should be evaluating the racism and prejudice that exists within the community that a startup would actually deal with on a day to day basis. The people that actually matter, the people that would have an effect on your startup. The business people, the technical talent, the fellow entrepreneurs. Not people on marta trains.
So yeah, to back up your final point: what racist bigots on subway trains say to you should be thrown into the "noise" bucket, no matter where you are or what you're doing.
I really think Atlanta could be primed to become the next hot spot ala the bay area. The east coast needs a central magnet for stuff like this, and I think the ATL should be it :)
There's actually a pretty large population of angels and VC's in atlanta already, but they've traditionally invested in normal startups ... just need to get enough steam going to grab their attention.
Send in our email addresses to whom? We need to elect one person to be the organizer of all of this or something.
Just as a note, we (azsromej and I) registered the domain startup20.com a few months ago. Never really did anything with it except put up a logo. I'd be happy to put a wiki or something just to keep track of meet up dates / locations.
The ATL entrepreneurs link that was already posted would have worked but they are charging $10? Whats up with that? Just meet somewhere and have some sushi or drinks or something.
I have a friend who is originally from brazil who has a lot of VC contacts down there, and according to him they are all itching to get their claws into some american startups, because there's simply not much entrepreneuriship going on in brazil outside of banana stands. He lives in tennessee though, but he said he is very very interested in coming down for some of these meet n greets with atlanta area startups. So I'll see if I can get him to tag along to one or two.
I'm in a startup with azsromej, so count me in as well.
As far as having meet n greets, I'd propose somewhere in Midtown. Thats where Tech is, its where Technology Square is, its where all the growth is. The Perimeter area is just full of old established insurance companies, marketing and spamming companies -- the "old school" suits. Midtown is where all the young professionals and visionaries are, plus its literally the only place centralized to all of the metro atlanta area instead of just the northern edge like Perimeter would be.