

Developer Auction Racks Up $78 Million More Bids, Expands To LA - allangrant
http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/26/developer-auction-racks-up-78-million-more-bids-expands-to-la/

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daeken
> Not that DevelopersAuction has been sticking too closely to its original
> parameters anyway. Ostensibly the company solicits developers who are
> graduates of Stanford or MIT and/or have worked for companies like Google,
> Facebook or Apple. But at least one Chicago based developer was accepted
> even though he didn’t match those criteria.

I was accepted to Developer Auction (not looking for work, but I always like
to know what my options are) despite having no college experience (let alone a
degree), indicating I lived in the middle of nowhere in CT and was only
interested in remote work, had never worked for one of the 'big startups', and
stating I was only looking for security roles. No idea how I was accepted.

I received some interest -- e.g. "Are you sure you don't want to move to SF?"
-- but no offers. I'm assuming it was primarily due to the remote requirement
given that.

~~~
Matt_Mickiewicz
Your accomplishments & resume where super impressive, you've been featured in
Forbes, Engadget and numerous other media publications. You've published
awesome security papers, spoken at conferences, etc.

You definitely pass every possible measure of "quality", so we included in you
in the auction to see whether any of the companies would be interested in your
unique security skills. One company was, but they wanted you onsite in Silicon
Valley.

Last time I checked though, your Developer Auction profile said you're in the
New York City Area :)

~~~
daeken
Well thanks, definitely appreciate the chance! And you're right -- I did say
"Metro NYC Area", as I'm a fairly close by, despite being in the 'middle of
nowhere' by my own standards haha.

Anyway, I'm really bullish on Developer Auction. It's the first innovative
thing I've seen in recruiting in a long, long time. I think it's going to be a
Big Deal (TM).

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dangero
I'm trying to understand 78 Million in bids. Let's say 10 companies make a bid
of 150K to the same single developer, then that is 1.5 Million in bids right?

~~~
droithomme
It sure seems that way, doesn't it. That was brought up previously in one of
the articles here about their model, and there was no response to questions
about it.

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siavosh
The article is a bit misleading. Offers generally mean the interviews are
done, and the company has found a match. But on the homepage it says all
offers are non-binding and before any interviews. It seems they can be used as
just a way for the recruiter/company to get someone's attention.

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pc86
I still don't understand why they're only limited to allowing developers from
a few select employers and Stanford/MIT grads.

~~~
Matt_Mickiewicz
Hit refresh on our homepage :)

That acceptance criteria was used for the first auction, but we're opening it
up now.

~~~
mmelin
Your FAQ/Learn More page still says "currently open only to employees of
Facebook, Apple, Twitter, Zynga, and Google as well as Stanford & MIT
graduates"

<http://developerauction.com/for_developers>

~~~
Matt_Mickiewicz
Updated that as well.

We're rolling out a re-design soon.

------
xoail
I wonder what expands to LA really means. I got 2 offers from startups that
are based in LA already.

~~~
Matt_Mickiewicz
We had a lot of LA Employers onboard, but no LA Developers.

It's a lot easier to recruit local talent vs. convincing people to pack up and
move -- especially if they own a house, have family/partners/friends or other
strong ties to their current location.

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frere
Hmm, I didn't know Feirstein (usell.com, money4gold) was affiliated with
this... red flags galore.

[http://www.corporationwiki.com/Florida/Fort-
Lauderdale/doug-...](http://www.corporationwiki.com/Florida/Fort-
Lauderdale/doug-feirstein/36121110.aspx)
[http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1271075/0001116502090...](http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1271075/000111650209001310/money103.htm)

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bjourne
So the idea is that companies bid against each other on talent? What is to
stop them from colluding and bidding just the current bid + 1? E.g. the first
company bids 150k, the next one 151k and so on. Also, are the companies
supposed to bid on the candidates without even having met them? What if
someone has a kick-ass work history but turns out to be a tool in real life?

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hippich
I was accepted besides my out of states degree and no experience working in
big startups. And unlike daeken I was never featured in any publications nor I
have impressive resume :) I am wondering what criteria I did fit...

Anyway, got zero offers. Oh well. :)

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timdorr
I put myself up on there even though I'm based in Atlanta. (I'm a friend of
Allan Grant, btw) Any thoughts about telecommuting positions or general remote
workers? Are you avoiding those kinds of positions currently?

~~~
Matt_Mickiewicz
Recruiting for telecommuting positions in general is a lot easier... it's
getting talented people to show up in your office in the SF Bay Area or NYC
that's usually the bigger challenge and where the greatest supply-demand
imbalance lies, and that's the problem we're trying to tackle.

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RMNH
Nice job)

