Developer Auction Racks Up $78 Million More Bids, Expands To LA

Developer Auction Racks Up $78 Million More Bids, Expands To LA(techcrunch.com)

74 points by allangrant 13 years ago | 22 comments

daeken 13 years ago |

> 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 13 years ago | |

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 13 years ago | | |

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).

throwaway1979 13 years ago | |

Are you in the Norwalk-Greenwich-Stamford area by any chance? I moved there about a year ago. Really enjoy living there but the area feels like the middle of nowhere from the perspective of afterwork tech scene. I used to go to Manhattan to attend meetups but MetroNorth got really tiring. I've been thinking of starting a hacker space or a meetup but haven't figured out if there will be any interest.

daeken 13 years ago | | |

I'm in Monroe (not far from Trumbull). Moved from Manhattan 2 or 3 months ago, but I'm very much in the same place as you; I love it here, but it's a bit isolating. I don't know how close you are to NESIT (hackerspace up near Waterbury) but I've heard some good things about it from friends; planning on heading up there and giving a little talk soon. There's another hackerspace somewhere on the Eastern side of the state, but don't recall where.

dangero 13 years ago |

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 13 years ago | |

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.

siavosh 13 years ago |

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.

pc86 13 years ago |

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

meaydinli 13 years ago | |

I think they consider everyone that apply. I am not a MIT/Stanford grad but I was given consideration but passed over because I am not close to SF. After talking a bit with them, and stating I am willing to relocate, I was told I'd be reconsidered in the next auction. They were very patient with me too. I'd certainly give it a try even if you are not MIT/Stanford grad.

Matt_Mickiewicz 13 years ago | |

Hit refresh on our homepage :)

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

mmelin 13 years ago | | |

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

xoail 13 years ago |

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

Matt_Mickiewicz 13 years ago | |

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.

frere 13 years ago |

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.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1271075/0001116502090...

bjourne 13 years ago |

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?

hippich 13 years ago |

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. :)

timdorr 13 years ago |

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 13 years ago | |

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.

RMNH 13 years ago |

Nice job)