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‘Everyone’ isn’t an audience. ‘Everyone’ is a byproduct of an incredibly successful thing that was made for a far more specific bunch of people. Don’t ever make something for ‘Everyone’ make it for someone. And make that person love it. I listened to an overwhelmingly amazing podcast the other day with Sam Simon, one of the original creators of the Simpsons. Most of the interview focused on his battle with cancer, but he also talked about when he and Matt Groening worked together creating the show. And he mentioned that there were two writers he wanted to bring on board, but they turned him down. And the rest of that season, he wrote the show for them—he wanted them to think it was funny. For Simon, that was the test: Did those two people think it was funny—not network execs, not focus groups, and certainly not ‘Everyone.’ Jesus, I *hate* Facebook, and you don’t get much more ‘Everyone’ than that thing now, but it didn’t get gigantic building for ‘Everyone,’ it got gigantic building for Harvard students, then Ivy League students, then more and more and more. Go ask all your friends on Google Plus how well building for ‘Everyone’ from the start went. When you begin with ‘Everyone’ you’re just stuck: How do you make any honest decisions? How do you solve any real problems? You don’t. You start to invent people and you start to invent their problems and it’s amazing because those people and those problems line up almost exactly with what you’re building and how you’re thinking about it—imagine that. Lying to yourself is amazing for productivity. Real audience is hard. Solving real problems is fucking bananas. But it’s the only way you make something that lasts, because you made something that someone actually cared about. Every amazing comic that Vertigo comics published wasn’t written for ‘Everyone.’ Every person that read them knew what I knew when I read them myself: This comic was written just for me. That. Do exactly that. You’ll be fine.

Daniel Sinker (via christinefriar)

wow this is awesome

(via joeyevoli)

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Long Bike Ride by ~qetza

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The lawn on top of the Apple Store in Boston.

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New Leaf

I've changed the name of my blog to, "Hillmans Highway" if you haven't noticed. The old title of my blog didn't feel right anymore. The previous title, "Now Arriving" felt a little pretentious and old. At the time I felt like I was arriving at a new career and it represented every moment in life was now arriving at that instant. There is still quite a bit of truth to that but I feel like "Hillmans Highway" more accurately describes my position and goals in life.

Hillmans Highway is a ski trail in Tuckerman's Revine which rests on the backside of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. It's a serious journey to get there from the drive to Pinkham Notch, to the hike to Hojo's lodge and the hike to the top and then the steep desecent by ski. Even after you ski down you still have to hike out.

Hillmans Highway is a better description of the journey I'm on and the work it takes to get through the finish line. It would be nice to start taking a longer view on the world and not be so short sighted.

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Steep hike...

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This photo was part of a relaxing Sunday for me. Haven't had one of these in a while.

It was a nice finish to my first week at Bonobos. It was fast-paced with a lot of people, faces, and of course learning my new job. I may step back from regular blogging until I get a little more perspective on what's going on around me. It takes time to truly understand the situation and I almost prefer to wait and let my ideas marinate before spouting off details. We'll see - maybe a weekly update or just less serious stuff and more visuals. 

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I'm not a fan of throwing your resume on the pile but if you have to, an alternative resume might be your best bet. It is situational of course but, there is so much talent out there you have to find a way to differentiate yourself. Think of job candidates as businesses. If employers buy (hire) from "businesses'" and every business has a good reputation (college degree) and some businesses have been in business longer than others (experience) how do you get a leg up? This was a experiment in resume creation. I never actually submitted or completed this because I didn't have to - I chose to network instead. It definitely needs work in the design department. Some other ideas are to create a YouTube video, http://hirechristine.com/, The Google Job Experiment. Hopefully this will inspire you.

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Hire a Caddy

Caddies have more skills than it would seem on the surface. Caddies get paid to give advice, directions, and consult.  Caddies deal with a variety of people, tactfully. They meet strangers and get them to trust their advice over the course of a round. By nature, caddies are persuasive and emotionally intelligent. If you lay these qualities over  a bright, engaged candidate, you could be looking at a good employee for your organization. Of course, some caddies are happy just being caddies but, there are always those looking for better opportunities.

The key to selling is bonding and rapport. My father was a salesman for 30 years and he told me if you don’t get prospects to like you, they’ll never buy from you. I learned this skill from being a caddy. You spend 4-6 hours with someone over the course of a round and it's in your best interest to figure out a way to connect with that person. I like to tell people I’ve been building rapport for 10 years because that’s how long I’ve caddied for. Among schmoozing skills, I learned the principles of customer service, how to elevator pitch, hard work, etiquette, and became comfortable around very successful people.

There's no point in doing anything for 10 years if you can't think about it on a higher level - even if it is seemingly menial work. If you are looking for a job and have little professional experience, you have to be able to tease out skills employers are looking for from menial jobs you may have done. Show them you learned something.

During my most recent interview with Bonobos, one person I spoke to asked me about my caddy experience - I was thrilled to talk about it. As a young caddy, golfers want to know where you went to school, what you do in the winter, what you're studying, if you play any sports, and sometimes if your're looking for a job. You have to be good at the elevator pitch because they are really playing golf and not networking with caddies, initially. You have to communicate quickly and concisely in between shots - you only have a minute or two at most. If you can put enough of these short conversations together, you can start to build a story which helps build rapport with your golfer. If you provide excellent service and tell a good story, they like you, make your job easier, and are more willing to help you off the golf course.

There are so many nuances to being a good caddy from meeting your golfer to, knowing the rules/etiquette which telegraph your golfers actions and your response. The point is caddies know how to manage people based on rules, process, and can read a situation where actions might be unclear.. The caddies that provide excellent service will probably have the skills your looking for in a professional setting as well.

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Week #7

After 6 months in Vail, 3 months on the Vineyard, and 7 weeks looking for a Job in NYC, I landed at Bonobos. I'm happy as a clam. They have a great team there with great business prospects. Who knew I would end up in the fashion business. I'll be on their eComm team and helping out wherever else possible.

The end of last week, leading up to the multiple interviews with Bonobos this week was action packed. It's tough preparing for 3 interviews in 3 different business'/models/customers/stages in 3 consecutive business days. It was worth it because I received 2/3 offers and was able to choose the best one. That's really what it is is to create a market for yourself - give yourself choices. Employers already have lots of choices so you have to communicate value to them - peak enough interest and you have your own private job market.

The interviews at Bonobos reminded me of "super-days" we used to talk about in the finance society when investment banks interview you. The first day of interviewing I met 3 different people I would be working with directly and I was there for at least 2 hours. It's hard to call it an interview because I think their goal was to see if there was a cultural fit. We had more of a conversation and a, "Hello, this is my story, what's yours" interaction. They of course asked me some probing questions and some thinkers as was anticipated. The second day of "interviews" I met 5 more people and everything went really well. The last day was the offer and close. After talking about the compensation package and the next 30-60 days of work it didn't take me long to decide. It was clear this was a good fit for me and Bonobos.

I honestly think this was the easy part. The real work hasn't even begun.

Cheers to good years. 

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La Nina is back.

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Week #6

It's fairly late as I'm writing this which is the story of the week for me. Late nights preparing for interviews. Burning the midnight oil, as they say.

During week six I prepared a 30+ page presentation for CB Insights which took a deep dive into their product and UX. We also talked sales strategies where I could make an impact. I think I provided some valuable insight for their team. Even if they don't make me an offer I learned a lot about hiring, sales, and UX just from thinking about their business in their shoes.

It's so difficult to allocate resources and make the right decisions when running a small, emerging business. There are so many things you need to do but don't have the money to hire people to do them. I think many businesses make the mistake of hiring when the timing and cash flow is not right. It's still a great opportunity but, I realized there were more wrinkles to be ironed out after talking with my dad about it.

My other interview was with Quirky - a design company that makes inventing accessible. I thought the interview went really well and I had three different conversations with HR and their community team. I was also super prepared for this interview and they thanked me for that. Quirky has great growth prospects as a company and I would love to help them continue to build on everything they've done already. I just submitted a writing exam for the position and hope to hear from them soon. I'm definitively a fan of good design and think I have an eye for it. I've done some UX work with software and in college I took 2 environmental design courses which were great. Hey - it's better than nothing!

Also, from down-town, I lined up an interview at Bonobos as I was on my way to my interview with CB Insights. Preparing for that one as we speak. Wish I had a little more time but La Nina had other plans dropping trees all over my house. Can't wait to move to the city. 

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Artists build sculptures, Engineers build bridges, Businessmen build businesses.

Benjamin J. Stein

1986-Present

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Week #5

This week was the roller coaster of weeks so far. It got off to a pretty slow start, I felt queezy at times, and there were highs and lows. This week needed a lot more energy to make progress than last week - energy I had trouble finding at times. There were two nights in week #4 that I couldn't sleep because I was so excited for the meetings I had the next day. I need to practice working until physical exhaustion or quieting my mind to get to sleep. The lack of sleep really hurt my energy level going into week #5.

This week was different. I had done the work by identifying about 20 companies out of 300 that I wanted to work for so, now it is a matter of engaging them - which is a whole other ballgame. I also started a website, NYC Startup List. I have never launched a website before so there is a big learning curve there for me.

Here's the summary of the week:

- I continued to update a number of people on my progess

- Sailthru didn't respond to my follow up

- Not able to get someone from Credit Suisse on the phone so I through my resume on the pile - not good.

- Calls canceled with a VC and founder of Rapleaf - both rescheduled for week #6

- Put on hold with Appnexsus and Onswipe <---big disappointment

- Awesome meetings with CEO of FileMobile  and CEO of CB Insights

- Caddied 36 holes on Sunday. Forgot to mention I caddy on the weekends. Post to come.

Sometimes when a few doors shut, a window opens...

I keep reminding myself that this is a process. Finding the right job doesn't happen over night. If you create the right process and execute well, the results will follow.

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Face to Face

Met the CEO of FileMobile yesterday in SOHO. The meeting totally exceeded my expectations. I can't stress enough how important it is to get out in front of people! That's how you make things happen. Get out of the house and put yourself in front of someone.

Something else I've noticed is the willingness of people in the tech community to help you. Maybe it's not the tech community but, the working community. In some ways I feel a collective consciousness of empathy around those without work. Someone who is making an effort to get back on their feet is worth helping out.

I was also introduced to one of the CEO's colleagues who intro'd me to the CEO of CB Insights, in a matter of minutes, no hesitation. We had a great conversation and may try to work something out. Stay tuned...

Again this all happened because I got off my ass and went to talk to somebody. Don't be afraid to ask for a few minutes of someone's time. Surprise yourself with their generosity.

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My Job Finding Thesis

I came up with a thesis a while ago but, never had a chance to implement it because I was doing a couple of startups. The thesis is: follow the money. Follow the headlines and see who are the recently funded companies. You'll see something like, "XYZ company raises megamillions to grow their business, build their product, and move to new offices somewhere." If you read between the lines, you'll see that the money is going into human capital. People are the ones who are going to build, sell, maintain, and manage a company. Ergo, funding events = jobs! Companies who have recently raised money need to spend it on people like you to help grow their business. Growth is measured not only be revenue but, also by headcount. Revenue growth comes from the people who generate it.

The second part of my thesis has been to explore venture capital portfolios and see which companies are hiring. VCs invest in promising companies that they think will grow. Companies that grow, hire. 99% of VCs list their portfolio companies on their website so it's easy to find leads. Some VCs even power their portfolio job listings with a plugin from Indeed.com that makes it even easier to find jobs by type and location.

The last part of my thesis is the hunt and close. Once you've identified the companies you want to work for you need to reach out and get their attention. My tactics have been getting in touch with the VCs of the portfolio companies I want to work for and trying to get a warm introduction to the CEOs. This is not easy and you won't always get the introduction you're looking for. However, the best way to get into a company is to submit your "resume" to a person and not a pile. The resume is often a secondary formality if you can state your case. You can get around the resume pile if you are clever and are not afraid to go out and network.

So that was the process but, you also want to have some criteria when selecting companies to work with. It will help you narrow and focus your findings. I'll share mine with you:

NYC, well funded, growing market, killer product, few or no competitors, experienced team, early stage between seed and A round

There were only a few I found that really met all of these requirements so, I would say it's ok to compromise on some of the criteria such as stage or competitors. 

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Business Du Jour

My last post was geared more towards providing insight for others - this one is more selfish. Although, I've always believed in the importance of listening to the stories of others as they might provide inspiration to your own success. That is the purpose of the total body of work in this blog. This post answers the question of what I want to do for the rest of my life... I want to build my own company or help someone else build theirs. Through much studying and trial and error I've found the best way to achieve this goal is through entrepreneurship. There is nothing more exciting than building or learning about something new and that is a pre-req to being an entrepreneur. You have to have an inherent desire to learn and an unquenchable curiosity for life. I almost don't care what I do, so long as I love it. My problem is I want work for the "business du jour". There are so many great, new companies out there it's hard to pick one I really want to work for. It's like when I see a pretty girl walking down the street, I fall in love. Then I see another pretty girl and I fall in love again. No one is perfect so, the key is to pick someone you really like and get married...or get hired. I've been able to identify about 15 companies that I'd really like to work for in NYC because I've looked at over 300. I've done the work and there were plenty that didn't move me at all and then there were the ones that I said, "Holy shit - that's cool". I think part of the reason for not knowing what you want to do comes from not knowing what you don't want to do. This knowledge came from doing a couple startups and also screening a shitload of companies until my eyes glazed over. The 15 companies I identified not only impressed me with their products but they also solved problems in areas I was interested in like ads, eComm and, fintech. I've found companies I like and I soon think I'll be in love.

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What do you want to do for the rest of your life?

This is a great question and a question I've been asked many times before. It's a great question because it really makes you think and it's almost impossible to answer. Ask someone and watch them squirm trying to answer it - it's a pretty cruel question actually.

I was most recently asked this question by a hedge fund manager over a phone conversation. I think he asked it because he saw an opportunity for me and many 2008 graduates to carve our own paths. There is no such thing as a job for life and there are no longer linear career paths. The freedom and lack of restriction can sometimes be a hindrance when trying to make a decision. When you can do anything, the amount of choices are almost paralyzing.

My professional experience went from finance, to finance, to software startup, to fintech startup, to social media consultant, to ski instructor, to caddy, and now I'm looking to return to startups. There is definetly a finance theme but, not a very linear path. Not going in a straight line won't hurt you if you don't let it. If you can confidently own everything you've done and clearly explain why it happened the way it did, you should be fine. The most important part is confidence. Be proud of what you've done and try to tease out aspects of the job that would be valuable to a future employer. 

Back to the question at hand...

The simplest way to get to the answer is to make a list of things that interest you. Music, cars, fashion, selling, advertisements, for example. Once you have about 5-10 topics that really interest you, start doing your research on companies that operate in that space. Go after the ones where you think you could really make an impact on their business and try to get in touch with them - network in, cold call, cold email, YouTube video, whatever it takes. Work harder than the next guy.