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Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

getboost.io

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Re: Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

#31

Post by ha470 »

ztratar wrote: post #8
sprice wrote: post #7

This looks very useful. But it's not clear to me what a "topic" is. Is it a single question from beginning to end? If it dragged on could it become a new topic? More clarity with this would be great!

Thanks for the feedback! There's actually currently an AB test where we remove topics. It seems that most people are confused by this, and it created a strange flow in the conversations. A topic is basically an entire chat engagement, end-to-end, with a specific purpose. As I said though, we're looking to gain data right now to possibly remove them. Appreciate the thoughts!

Maybe just call them "conversations"?

Re: Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

#32

Post by leroy_masochist »

Quick question, trying to get my head around the product:

Say I just got an email from my boss that I think is passive-aggressively accusatory (e.g., perhaps it lays out the specifics of what she wants me to do tomorrow in a way that I think she's implying that I can't be entrusted to get things done without detailed instructions).

I paste the email into Boost, asking for feedback; am I crazy, or is this an accusatory email, I wonder, eagerly anticipating Boost's response. Perhaps I also want to hear Boost's advice on how to respond to the email.

After I do this, who is reading and interpreting the email on Boost's behalf, then giving me advice on how to respond? I'm sure you're feeding it into a sentiment analysis API, but apart from that, what human attention does the email get and what are the backgrounds of the humans doing it?

Re: Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

#33

Post by ztratar »

rezashirazian wrote: post #19

Roll eyes . I'm sorry but this is a ridiculous idea. I can see potential use for this once or twice a year, and even at that I wouldn't reach out to anyone unless I know them personally. How insecure and in need of validation someone needs to be to seek career advice from a chatbot four times a month?

Hey! Founder & CEO here.

Love the emotional response. Hey -- some people have to think it's incredibly stupid for it to be a good idea, right? #vclogic ;)

Anyways, we don't see this as just an advisor/coach that you use once or twice a year. That's thinking by the old school rules of how career coaches work.

But Boost is very, very different.

The vast majority of our users use Boost to analyze internal workplace situations, such as those dealing with politics or trying to climb the ladder. Many users do this weekly, when they get new communications that confuse them and they want to ensure they put their best foot forward.

We started the company as an advice-giving system for those during job hunts, but found nearly everyone should have been talking to us 3-6 months before they were switching. Most people don't have online brands that exude quality, they don't land speaking engagements, they don't push themselves to hit goals, and much more.

The people who push, have constant feedback, and have social accountability end up achieving much more. They gain an edge over the people who only "need advice once or twice a year."

Tighter feedback loops = faster learning, which equates to faster career growth.

----

Oh, and it's not a chatbot. Think of it more like Facebook M -- we have a full-time staff of career coaches who ensure every conversation is of the absolute quality. As of right now our chatbot tech is exceedingly limited and we're prioritizing quality over scale.

Re: Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

#35

Post by tIONTamINariciA »

In the "Communicate Better" section, did the imaginary employee really attach business confidential information in a Boost topic?

i.e. "I've attached a PowerPoint full of sensitive information that I'd love you to read and profide feedback. Soon afterwards I'll be needing job search advice since my employer will fire me for having such terrible judgement."

Sounds like a terrible idea and a poor example of how to use the service. Do they really want to advertise Boost as a service which will provide unapproved consultancy of confidential info?

Re: Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

#36

Post by mej10 »

rezashirazian wrote: post #19

Roll eyes . I'm sorry but this is a ridiculous idea. I can see potential use for this once or twice a year, and even at that I wouldn't reach out to anyone unless I know them personally. How insecure and in need of validation someone needs to be to seek career advice from a chatbot four times a month?

Fortunately for this company not everyone is so self-important that they think an AI-enhanced coach couldn't help them.

Re: Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

#38

Post by cblock811 »

Sounds like this would be helpful for a lot of people. I would use it following the same rationale as hiring a personal trainer: some self-imposed level of accountability to push me forward. I know how to exercise, but having someone there to nudge me in the right direction helps me actually do it.

Re: Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

#39

Post by goldenkey »

ztratar wrote: post #33
rezashirazian wrote: post #19

Roll eyes . I'm sorry but this is a ridiculous idea. I can see potential use for this once or twice a year, and even at that I wouldn't reach out to anyone unless I know them personally. How insecure and in need of validation someone needs to be to seek career advice from a chatbot four times a month?

Hey! Founder & CEO here. Love the emotional response. Hey -- some people have to think it's incredibly stupid for it to be a good idea, right? #vclogic ;) Anyways, we don't see this as just an advisor/coach that you use once or twice a year. That's thinking by the old school rules of how career coaches work. But Boost is very, very different. The vast majority of our users use Boost to analyze internal workplace situ…

So you have a team of insulated Silicon Valley scalleywags that are going to help _me_ with my job in another reasonable part of the country? Unlikely. Cmon, we all know the bourgeois hipsters giving advice to normal people is like throwing a subway sandwich to ducks in a pond.

Re: Boost – Your personal advisor and career coach

#40

Post by gailees »

ztratar wrote: post #30
firloop wrote: post #27

Reminds me a lot of StrongIntro's (YC W16) website https://strongintro.com/

Hey! We are friends with Fouad (founder of StrongIntro) and he let us use the images. :)

Fouad is awesome. Always so helpful to everyone around him.
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