Sunsetting Hire • Hacker News Board

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#131

Post by stephenr » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 2:55 AM UTC

wilkystyle wrote: post #6

Every time there's a post about a Google service being shut down, there are the usual remarks. I'm not saying they aren't deserved, but I'm curious if there's an alternate perspective here? Perhaps sunsetting these services ultimately leads to a more trim and lean Google, and better profit margins? Put another way, is it just the HN circle that is so put off by this?

Right, because when Johnny B. Small business owner realises the google service he relies on for is cancelled, he's not thinking "oh great now i have to find/learn/migrate data using a new service", he's thinking "Oh well at least google's bottom line will look a little better".

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#132

Post by nateps » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 2:55 AM UTC

I'm the founder and CTO of Lever, YC S12. I also worked at Google as a PM prior to founding Lever.

Let me know how I can help if anyone has questions! We're a great alternative to Google Hire.

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#133

Post by blackoil » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 2:56 AM UTC

Was it a showcase project for Bebop platform? Doesn't seems to be kind of project that Google should own/launch. 380 MM$ seems too much for this product.

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#134

Post by ehsankia » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 2:57 AM UTC

dmix wrote: post #95

If it was successful why not sell it and let it live on?

I wonder if it has to do with Diane leaving and Thomas being the new CEO, trying to cut the smaller stuff. Especially with Hire was basically the project of Diane's company that Google acquired.

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#135

Post by stephenr » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 2:58 AM UTC

enos_feedler wrote: post #92

lumost wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has largely failed to diversify. In contrast with Amazon, or Microsoft they only have two closely coupled revenue lines ( search and ads ). Overall this makes them vulnerable to a shift in the marketplace such as increased demand for privacy.

Privacy and ads can co-exist

In the way google does it?

They're apparently not interested in offering an ad service that just shows ads related to the topic of the site/article (or that have identified the types/topics of sites/articles they wish the ad to appear on), the way that e.g. magazine ads would be "targeted".

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#136

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 3:00 AM UTC

jmtame wrote: post #117

Founder and CEO of Agave.com here. We're a new player in the space and we've focused on making it easy for startups to get going quickly with an ATS that doesn't suck. If you're interested in a demo or getting an invite to join (we haven't launched publicly yet), shoot me an email at jared@agave.com.

[deleted]

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#137

Post by stephenr » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 3:01 AM UTC

Havoc wrote: post #53

Starting to think that the key is to build your toys on a VM you control. That way nobody can take them away Proprietary stuff is starting to become flakey not in the uptime sense but pure lifespan. Almost like planned obsolescence became a thing with gear

Some people have never stopped thinking that way. Some of us have questioned every single "we'll just use google " decision/discussion every time it's come up.

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#138

Post by Jasper_ » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 3:01 AM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #130

smt88 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After the Hangouts/Allo/Duo debacle, I've done exactly this. I'll never put time into a new Google product again. My projects don't use G Suites or Cloud, either. I can't be the only one.

G Suite and Google Cloud are very different. GSuite is the enterprise version of the consumer apps which have billions of users so it's not going anywhere. Google Cloud has potential to meet or exceed adtech revenue and has some very big commercial customers. It's these smaller apps that suffer because $400/month isn't enough to make a difference at Google scale. They do have a mandate to keep innovating but it's a s…

> G Suite and Google Cloud are very different. GSuite is the enterprise version of the consumer apps which have billions of users so it's not going anywhere.

Hire was a G Suite app.

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#139

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 3:02 AM UTC

jmtame wrote: post #117

Founder and CEO of Agave.com here. We're a new player in the space and we've focused on making it easy for startups to get going quickly with an ATS that doesn't suck. If you're interested in a demo or getting an invite to join (we haven't launched publicly yet), shoot me an email at jared@agave.com.

[deleted]

Re: Sunsetting Hire

#140

Post by Dwolb » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 3:05 AM UTC

Hire user here. IMO the product was functional (and cheap relative to the market) but not good.

There were a lot of UX quirks that made it feel like an outside consultancy slapped some “Material” design on a pre-built app and called it a day.

Really I would’ve liked to see a product like this be a meta-layer on top of GSuite productivity tools. ie Interview feedback forms should be a Forms form, the job board should be more like Sites.

From a strategic standpoint I had no idea why they pursued this particular product. The output here never seemed particularly well-aligned to any strategic motive.