
Show HN: Hacking recruiting - Coder's Coffee - hongquan
http://www.coderscoffee.com/
======
tferris
The idea seems appealing but as many "dating" apps it won't work:

People want to meet new people all the time, the more the better and
preferably close to their own personality. The problem is: if you just say,
'hey guys, you should meet up, you are both coders, you should like each
other' or in a real dating environment, 'hey guys, just meet, you are both
singles' it won't work.

People need some guidance, some hook and reason why to meet and more important
what to talk to each other, small talk without setting people into context
won't work. This app is missing the hook to meet up, just grabbing a coffee
together because both code in similar languages is no sufficient plug or
starter.

Examples that work:

\- On a typical network event you have small hooks like the presentations
shown. There're great starters to get into small talk and carry on with deeper
conversations later. This environment leaves the agenda open about who you
talk to and what you talk about. That's good and keeps conversations and new
encounters thrilling.

\- On a hackerthon you have even stronger hooks because you have to work
together or you just _have a very good reason_ to talk to each other—mingling
will happen automatically and excitement wil be at its max because everything
is new (people, context, tech) and you face a challenge which you have to
solve in a short time which makes it even more thrilling. The stronger these
kind of excitements are the stronger the initial bonding will be between the
participants after the event. And this bonding is everbody's goal: not just
meeting random people for coffee but meeting like-minded people _in order to_
build strong relationships with them. Or to put it another way: the context
(=> the event/guide/task/excitement) is the actual cause for strong bondings
and relationships and _not_ similar personalities or preferred languages.
Interactions between people are context and behavior driven and not because of
similar profiles.

You have to give people a task, a mission. Just telling them to meet and talk
will make them feel awkward.

~~~
hongquan
Tom,

Thanks for the awesome feedback, we agree it seems like a dating app, and
we'll have to work hard to overcome any awkwardness and craft the best
experience possible. Our focus is on finding Coders in Silicon Valley, but our
big idea is much much bigger. Hope we can solve all the problems you've
brought up.

~~~
tferris
> but our big idea is much much bigger.

Tell us more!

~~~
hongquan
All in good time my friend. :) We've only just begun.

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stephen
I know mobile is hot right now, but does this really have to be an iPhone app?

~~~
markerdmann
I made a mobile web app about six months ago, and this is what I heard over
and over again from users: "Can you please please please make it a native
app?"

Just to get our feet wet, my partner and I proceeded to write two simple
iPhone apps. The first did 10x better than our mobile web app (with much less
effort), and the second did 100x better. That was enough to convince us, and
now we've shelved mobile web development in favor of iOS development.

That's just a personal anecdote, of course. I can't speak for the guys (or
gals) behind Coder's Coffee. Overall, though, I think this is responsible for
a lot of the interest we're seeing in iOS development.

It also helps that Apple has done a great job with XCode and the iOS SDK.
Developing for iOS is really a pleasure.

~~~
ashot
what apps?

~~~
markerdmann
I'd feel weird about advertising them here. :-) I'd be happy to chat over
Skype or email, though. You can find my contact info in my profile.

------
ohyes
Sorry, but what the hell is a 'software artificer'?

If you look at how the word 'artifice' is used, it is generally negative,
associated with being overly clever for the purposes of pretense, or generally
false/insincere.

So if I'm not sure the job title 'software artificer' even parses. 'A person
who writes unnecessarily ornate/impractical software.'

I hope I can write in whatever job title I want. It will be 'guy who may not
have shaved in a couple of days, has had too much caffeine, and is grumbling
incoherently at his laptop screen.'

~~~
elliptic
It's a perfectly respectable word.

Yeats - It knows not what it is; and gather me Into the artifice of eternity

Joyce - Old father, old artificer, stand me now and ever in good stead.

~~~
liamondrop
While it may be technically valid, artifice in modern usage is probably most
commonly associated with deception & fakery. So, as a job title, I'd say it
sounds pretentious and a bit out of touch, like someone who right clicked on
the word "engineer" and espoused an adventitious synonym in order to have the
earmarks of sagacity.

~~~
3pt14159
Artificers are not synonymous with engineers, they are much more synonymous
with craftspersons.

------
malandrew
A mashup that is a cross of Geeklist (for credibility), StackOverflow (for
topic listing and determining expertise) and this (to negotiate the details of
getting people together) would be useful in those cases where one developer
would like to spend 30 minutes picking the brains of a better developer.

For example, many a time I've spent 30+ minutes helping "orient" another
developer with respect to backbone.js development.

However, right now I'm in need of 30 minutes to sit down and talk with someone
who's implemented OAuth from the point of view of the API provider (not API
consumer), and organizing your DB to manage developer accounts and permissions
assigned to each "registered app" and it's hard to find the person whose 30
minutes of orientation would save me innumerable hours of research just to
figure out what is worth knowing and worth exploring further.

Being able to accumulate karma based on spending 30 minutes here and there
helping others and then spending it with others would be awesome. It would
basically be a "productized" version of those "Offer HN" posts.

~~~
hongquan
Love this! The app should be used by Coders who just want to help other Coders
too.

Thanks for this Andrew, we've got a lot of work ahead of us.

~~~
malandrew
I'm also in the social meeting space working on something complementary. I'm
in SF and I'd like to get coffee if you are too. Contact info in my profile.

------
alfiejohn_
Nice. I'm not interested in joining a startup, but meeting local fellow geeks
for coffee or lunch to shoot the breeze would be awesome... kind of like a
GeekGrindr :)

A ChessGrindr would also be another cool idea!

~~~
hongquan
We've been saying it's Highlight for Hackers. :)

GeekGrindr sounds painful. ;)

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will_work4tears
Seems fun. I signed up. However, in Chrome on Ubuntu I couldn't fill out the
email form field, and when I logged into my android phone (you'll have an app
for that too right?), it wasn't mobile responsive and I had to zoom in and
swipe left and right to see the page.

Just FYI.

~~~
hongquan
Thanks! Those are known issues but we'll work on it! We will build an Android
version for sure, but it's just one guy right now. :)

~~~
will_work4tears
Totally understand :)

I'd say I'd like to help, but it's been 5 years since I've used any Java. My
only decent languages are scripting ones - python and php as well as
JavaScript (mediocre).

~~~
hongquan
Python Developers are still in high-demand. Hopefully you'll get paid more
than just tears. ;)

------
seanp2k2
I like this idea a lot. As a sysadmin, I think you should build in more
options for "what they do" :)

~~~
hongquan
Thanks! We will add more roles. Sysadmins are in high demand here too.

------
apsurd
I think this is a good idea but the more popular you get the more filtering
you need. If 1000 hire-ees want to meet for coffee how will the hirer filter
them?

Well I guess I like the idea from the hire-ee perspective. But isn't it a bad
deal for the hirer? How does he know I'm even worth talking to? The most
valuable asset we have is time and you are asking people running companies to
give a lot of it away.

~~~
zackmorris
The funny thing is, this is the only reason I would want to use the app. Once
they have filtering implemented, I might as well just find an alternate means
of communication (friend on the inside, cocktail parties, etc).

Maybe flip the question around, how will good coders stay free of getting
hounded by headhunters and abusive clients?

~~~
hongquan
No Recruiters! You would only meet with Founders and bad startups will get
flagged by Coder's rating them.

------
astrofinch
I think your homepage could stand to explain the fundamentals of your app a
little better. It took some browsing around to figure out what the app could
actually do. Might be nice to have a brief sales pitch and some bullet points.

Something like:

Coders: Recruiting for your startup? Looking for a gig? Download Coder's
Coffee and we will hook you up!

[bullet points/features explained here]

~~~
Reflejo
Thank you for your feedback!. We'll improve the pitch.

------
sparknlaunch12
> _Help us reclaim the number one spot on Hacker News!_

We look forward to you sharing the results of HN discussion. What's the back
story?

I know many developers are building proximity/stalking apps but to me this is
creepy. However this may well have appeal to help others find hotspots of
activities or events.

Good luck.

~~~
hongquan
Not much of a story, we posted it around 3pm and had the top spot for a few
hours. It was exhilarating!

There are quite a few proximity apps, but we definitely don't want to be
creepy. It should be used by Coders to meet up with Founders or other Coders
to talk about their projects and startups. It might be useful to find
activities and events, but that's up to you and how you'll use it.

------
ssmall
I looked but didn't see it listed any where. Any android support?

~~~
hongquan
Sorry, we've just got the iPhone app. Android is in our future plans.

------
martingordon
I like it! Glad to see that innovation is alive and well in Argentina despite
the current climate.

FWIW, my dad grew up a few blocks from the pin shown on the map.

~~~
Reflejo
Wow! You have eagle vision. I grew up in Argentina but we are based in Silicon
Valley.

------
dudurocha
Guys, I'm a brazilian eager to work for a startup. I'm still in school, but I
would not care to make a six month sabbatical, to work on a startup.

What skills (tech and non-technical) and connection do you think I must have
to work in a early stage startup?

~~~
tferris
Technical: Good knowledge of a typical web stack or mobile development or both

Non-tech: Not much, you have just to show that your are ambitious and somebody
who gets things done (or finishs them)

With good technical knowledge you do not need connections. Just get familiar
with a technology, you like build some nice private projects and apply/go to
networking events.

Regarding tech: demand for iOS devs is always high, Anroid too and for the web
stack I'd recommend either Python/Django or Node.js/Express which are both
easy to learn

The earlier you start the better, so go for it!

~~~
dudurocha
Thanks so much, Tom. Nice words coming from you. Can I send you an email?

------
hongquan
Thanks for all the support HN! We're excited to get the app live on the App
Store, just have to deal with some paperwork first.

Also, if you are getting a 405 error on signup, you can just email us at
coders@coderscoffee.com to be added to the list.

------
SCdF
This kind of thing makes me wish I lived in the valley, or in the US in
general, I feel like I'm missing out. Any app that requires other people near
you using it too is essentially useless to me.

~~~
Reflejo
Worry not!. We are cooking some exciting stuff that'll be useful for every
single person in the world... Well... At least every geek.

------
jurre
Maybe Zynga isn't the best company to show on your example page for your
target audience. Other than that it looks really cool! Is this a SV thing only
or will it be expanding to other areas too?

~~~
hongquan
The Zynga thing is an inside joke. :) We are starting in SV, but hope to get
enough interest to launch in other areas as well.

------
dakrone
Software "Artificer"?

Artifice: "Clever or cunning devices or expedients, esp. as used to trick or
deceive others: 'artifice and outright fakery'."

Not necessarily the greatest way to describe yourself...

~~~
brown9-2
You looked up the definition of the wrong word:

<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/artificer?s=t>

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificer>

~~~
hongquan
Thank you!

------
revelation
Talk about a real social startup. Remembers me about the one that pairs
together random groups for a bar meetup.

~~~
Reflejo
We really believe that making real social application is indeed possible. We
also believe that the recruiting system is broken. This is our first step to
jailbreak it!

------
SoftwareMaven
Too bad the sign up fails on an iPad.

~~~
hongquan
Sorry about that, we're using another startup's product for the sign-ups. Will
take a look.

~~~
SoftwareMaven
I don't think their product is ready at all. I came back using Chrome and
failed again (Method not allowed with an UGLY error). I had to punt to Safari
before I could get it to take my email address.

------
impostura
Great idea and great implementation. Focus on a real issue. Can't wait for
trying it!

~~~
lucia12
Me too!

------
wowzer
This is the most amazing example of an MVP that I've ever seen. Lesson
learned...

~~~
hongquan
Wowzers, that's a really nice compliment! Thanks!

------
royalghost
Is this just available in the US app market ? I don't see this in Singapore ?

~~~
hongquan
We are testing in Silicon Valley only and will hopefully go worldwide.
Singapore has a great startup ecosystem that's just taking off!

------
benawabe896
Good stuff, and I'm currently looking. Was hoping for more than a sign-up.

~~~
hongquan
We hope to have the app out soon!

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navs
I like the idea. I just hope I can find someone in New Zealand.

------
jrockway
I don't think Capital letters mean What you Think they mean.

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maryanne
I will definitely give this a try. Nice job!

~~~
hongquan
Thanks Maryanne!

------
donretag
s/coffee/beer/

~~~
younata
s/beer/soda/

(for those of us who are under the legal drinking age and dislike coffee)

------
radagaisus
also relevant is bizzabo <http://www.bizzabo.com/>

~~~
hongquan
That looks cool, thanks for letting us know!

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leeny
cool idea. how do interested companies sign up?

~~~
hongquan
We're working with the startups directly. If you want to be featured, send us
a note at startups@coderscoffee.com

------
alanreid
looks nice!

~~~
hongquan
Thanks Alan!

------
pcopley
The design is almost identical to discovercircle.com (I have no relationship
with that site).

Is this a CMS theme?

------
BiWinning
lol wtf does this do? I know talent is tight in the valley right now but
surely you can find someone who can write a meaningful splash page. I don't
think my iphone servers coffee.

