matt_brushlabs

I certainly hope GitLab uses GitLab internally. ;)

I'm curious to understand the varying experiences of a technical vs. non-technical candidate, but I also will offer a hypothesis that many startups simply are very, very poor at managing a recruiting process.

Case in point: It wasn't until I began interviewing for business development roles with startups that a dialogue around high-level employment was simply ended with no follow-up.

I had spoken with one particular five-person shop (with a TechStars pedigree and a new wave of Series A under their belt) for a month or so. I had met the entire team and had an incredibly good rapport with the CEO/Co-Founder. We were down to the point of salary negotiations...

...and then, radio silence. That was eight weeks ago. I even sent two short emails every ten days just to see if there was any other insights or thoughts I could provide to help firm up their decision. The emails were ignored; I even bumped INTO the founder one day, and said founder promised to "follow-up this week". That was three weeks ago.

My time as a recruiter for my consulting firm taught me to treat each candidate with empathy and respect (unless they give you a reason not to do so). Unfortunately, by mishandling the process these startups lose not only a potential future employee, but also a potential user and partner in the instance that you have a leading role elsewhere.

An issue with Lyft, or any ride sharing service, is that they'll need to figure out how to operate in sprawly areas where customers are low-density. I spoke with them last year about their options for opening up in Detroit, but it seemed like a stretch for their ops; the only service I see really working there is Uber.

I imagine a similar issue for Dallas, Atlanta, etc. would transpire.

I'd agree with you, on the most part -- but I've worked with folks at the Big Three on their dealership strategies, and trust me: they're strange bedfellows.

Look no further than how TrueCar had to pivot their business model in a short period of time in order to comply with the cold backhand of dealers. It's a juggernaut, sadly.

I'm rooting for Elon to turn it on edge.

I don't know if Elon should be so quick to thumb his nose at the other auto manufacturers. For one, he's facing a pretty substantial uphill climb WRT dealership laws in a lot of states, and rattling the snake cage won't win any friends.

On the other hand, when brand value (save Ford) for the domestics is strikingly low, maybe he's throwing punches exactly when he needs to.

I do wonder why they're asking me to drive to Seattle first. There's sailboats in San Francisco, you know...

If Jobs operates even peripherally like a typical executive -- or even the partner of a consulting firm -- he has both an extremely razor-sharp assistant working on copy for emails like this AND a bevy of beach-combing young professionals culling research to build this sort of correspondence.

Then he probably sprinkles in some of his own language and gets to it. Shablamo, profit.

Hopefully not, but a charter can't forcibly compel an abusive parent to send his/her child there. You'd hope that wasn't the case, but ever since the Founding Fathers flipped their shit over taxation without representation, we've built a country that favors the ambitious and fortunate 94 percent of the time.