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“Facebook turned me down” (2009)

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Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#131

Post by taude »

DanBC wrote: post #85
ChuckMcM wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't all that unusual. Most people realize that hiring processes are really random. In some ways just hiring anyone who applies, firing them after 90 days if they don't work out, and keeping track of who has been through once is probably a better system overall. The recent work on how SAT scores don't predict college success is similar. There is a huge amount of influence around 'fit' and environment. Some peop…

> This isn't all that unusual. Most people realize that hiring processes are really random. In some ways just hiring anyone who applies, firing them after 90 days if they don't work out, and keeping track of who has been through once is probably a better system overall. "EMPLOYERS: avoid employing unlucky people by immediately tossing half the CVs in the bin" - Viz top tip.

that's a great one. going to have to use that one.

Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#132

Post by pbhjpbhj »

lemonberry wrote: post #120
alexeisadeski3 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"...various forms of the caste system are practised in several Buddhist countries, mainly in Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Japan where butchers, leather and metal workers and janitors are sometimes regarded as being impure. However, the system in these countries has never been either as severe or as rigid as the Hindu system and fortunately it is now beginning to fade away. The exception to this is Nepal where Tantric priest…

Read what you linked to again. It says Brahmanism was a caste religion. It then goes on to say "The Buddha, himself born into the warrior caste, was a severe critic of the caste system." Then "Even during the time when Buddhism was decaying in India and Tantrayana had adopted many aspects of Hinduism, it continued to welcome all castes and some of the greatest Tantric adepts were low castes or outcastes." It then sta…

>"Buddhist" countries having castes is not the same as Buddhism being a caste religion. Buddhism is not a caste religion. //

The practical effect is largely the same though surely. Like a majority Christian country having racism.

How does a caste system survive in a country where the majority of adults oppose it?

I suspect the answer is "it doesn't". People who label themselves proponents of a particular religion often don't follow it's precepts, traditions or philosophies.

Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#133

Post by weixiyen »

bduerst wrote: post #25
waterlesscloud wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if you're a giant company, hire them and don't tell them what to do. Let them run free on your dime. Own whatever they make. (Not that Twitter was a giant company in 2009, and Facebook was just getting there)

Too high of a risk for companies. Better to let the market sift out the successful founders than to payroll a hundred of them, hoping for a big win. Think of how many unsuccessful founder types that Facebook didn't hire too. Also if this guy was working for Facebook, odds are he would have ended up on messenger, and someone else would have filled the SMS market need for Whatsapp in India. Then Facebook would be acqui…

> Too high of a risk for companies.

Yeah and this is why Valve is a struggling company. Hiring really smart people and letting them make whatever products they want is doomed to failure.

Oh wait...

Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#134

Post by pseut »

shutupalready wrote: post #61
techsupporter wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By definition, a prenuptial agreement only covers entering into the marriage. Future assets, especially in community property states, usually have to be specifically disclaimed by the other party in the marriage before they can be considered separate property. For example: A prenup can't specify that a house bought after marriage is separate property, but the non-owning spouse can voluntarily sign away rights to that…

> Why would a spouse be no less entitled to reap the rewards OK, I'll bite. What if one of these situations: 1) What if the spouse was dead set against the start-up, and did everything possible to dissuade you, but you succeeded anyway. 2) What if you used your own money and assets from before the marriage to finance it? And what if those monies and assets were covered by the prenup; the company financed by those inv…

Then tear up the pre-nup and sign a new contract.

Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#136

Post by enewc »

adam419 wrote: post #28
pyrrhotech wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Mark Zuckerberg was a freshman in college again in 2014, what chances do you give him of creating a $170B company in the next decade? How about in his lifetime? How about a $1B company in his lifetime? I'd say on the order of 1. 1 in a billion 2. 1 in 100 million. 2. 1 in a million. Sure he is smart and driven and has had every opportunity available to the one guy on planet earth who will achieve what he has. But…

Pretty slim because Facebook exists in 2014 buddy. Your problem is that you're associating the biggest most overhyped entrepreneurs as being the typical entrepreneur. And they indeed do hit huge luck. So you're right there. What the media doesn't talk about -- are the thousands of founders running profitable companies in the tens of millions or even low hundreds of millions. If you do something of value to society, t…

> If you do something of value to society, the world will make you rich with a smile on its face.

Said no teacher, cancer researcher, etc. ever

Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#137

Post by xacaxulu »

grej wrote: post #81
adoggman wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He didn't fit their needs. If he doesn't and H-1B workers do, they should get the job.

Yeah because with the engineer crunch and all, there clearly just aren't quality folks out there. :-\

Let's drive down wages first with lots of visas and companies colluding to not recruit amongst themselves.

Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#138

Post by eru »

vog wrote: post #128
eru wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nah, Google interviews anyone with a pulse.

Related HN thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7128458

For me the first contact by their recruiters actually resulted in a job. But the interviews weren't particularly challenging.

Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#139

Post by rdl »

smsm42 wrote: post #112
hueving wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why would a spouse be no less entitled to reap the rewards generated by the other spouse's start-up? Because just sitting around giving emotional support to someone doesn't entitle you to half of everything they get. It doesn't work that way with any other relationship (parent, friend, etc), so why should a marriage? This is especially true if both partners are working.

Because that's what marriage is. If you don't like it, there's an easy solution - don't marry. You can do practically everything - from sex to going to movies together to emotionally supporting - without being married. If the concept of sharing your life with another person sounds weird - just don't do it. It's not mandatory, you know.

Careful about community property/common law marriage, though. Most of the liabilities, few of the benefits.

Re: “Facebook turned me down” (2009)

#140

Post by nailer »

kkowalczyk wrote: post #35
waterlesscloud wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it his programming capabilities that make him so valuable? Or something else? Can those traits be identified and valued in the hiring process?

I would say that the reason he struck gold (which is different from being valuable) is because he's a good programmer who happened to work on a break away product. There are much more good programmers out there than break away products like WhatsApp. You can't create successes like WhatsApp just by hiring good programmers. There are plenty of great teams that didn't achieve product/market fit and failed. There are pl…

> I would say that the reason he struck gold (which is different from being valuable) is because he's a good programmer who happened to work on a break away product.

'Happened to work on' makes it sound accidental. Maybe he's a good programmer and a good businessperson?

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