No offense, but I think you may have aimed too high in reaching out to the CEO. Unless you honestly think you're going to nab a position on the CEO's staff (which is possible, but unlikely) you should try to get an intro to the person(s) most likely to be able to make you an actual job offer. I've seen variants of your situation several times in the past. CEO meets someone, is impressed in some manner, passes the con…
The difference is I wasn't looking for a "job". I'm a hustler, willing to do what it takes, and I made it clear from the beginning. I wanted the opportunity to learn and do, and money wasn't an issue. It's a shock to me that I couldn't hustle my way into interning a startup at virtually no cost to them, given my experience. Maybe I'm overrating myself :). Also, its a small startup, so I would have had to gone through…
Re: Tell HN: I can't even get a job offering to work for free
#41I get few offers for 'free' work, the problem is that time is money. Having to mentor or guide someone, even if you are not paying them, it costs that person time, which they probably cannot afford to spend.