San Francisco Tech Trek
As NYU gives us the whole month of January off to pursue recruiting, I spent the past week in San Francisco through a school tech trek. We visited twelve companies in four days, so lots to take in. Here's my take on the recent trip:
SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco was an interesting mix for me. There were parts of it that were absolutely adorable and what is typically shown in the movies. However, other parts, were not so great. In general, being in the heart of the city, was not a pleasant experience. I think I was just unlucky and happened to pick a hotel in a rough part of the city, but in general, I just felt very unsafe walking around. I did love how spread out everything was, and the fact that I would get a car again. And those hills.......... Anyone who has a dog has got to have the strongest legs ever living in that city.
MONDAY
Trulia
Trulia was our first company visit. Going into this trek, I didn't quite know what to expect from the companies. I wasn't sure whether there would be a presentation, Q&A, office tour, some combination of all of the above and whatever else. As Trulia was recently acquired by Zillow, there were a lot of question regarding that transaction and how the two companies have merged and whether they're still considered competitors to each other. Unfortunately, I think the merger was too recent and ideas were still a bit jumbled. But on the upside, the people on the panel were courteous and welcoming, answering any questions they could and giving us a quick tour of the office. And they gave us lots of swag, which is always greatly appreciated.
OpenTable
OpenTable was quite a pleasant surprise. While I knew the basics of what the site and app did, I’d never looked at it as a company. It’s one of those services you use infrequently, at least in my case, and hardly give any thought to. But their presentation was one of the most captivating of the whole week. They showed us what the typical end consumer doesn’t see. But looking at it from their perspective, OpenTable does in fact have two customers: the people who make reservations and the restaurants themselves.
One of the speakers focused on their interactions with restaurants and the various services they provide. My inner geek definitely came out when he showed us their data system, and the various data points available to restaurant managers to analyze and make changes accordingly. While it was never a company that I’d thought about, it’s certainly on my list now!
Dropbox
Having worked in Cloud Drive for my last two years at Amazon, I expected Dropbox to have a very similar feel. I’m not sure how to describe the experience there though. Granted, they are moving to a new building in April, but what I saw was complete chaos. I understand that startups function very differently, but the environment was just not for me.
TUESDAY
Y Combinator
This startup accelerator was an interesting stop in our list in my opinion. It was interesting to hear about the process of how startups go through the application process and what happens if they make it through. Two of the partners were there to talk about the business, but overall it felt more like selling than wanting us to join the team. They have no positions open, either full time or for interns, so I walked away feeling like they were just hoping to get lucky with someone in the group having an awesome startup idea.
Google was probably the most familiar company to me. Having worked at Amazon, I’ve met a lot of people from various other tech companies. So, having friends at Google, I knew what to expect in general. The Mountain View campus did not disappoint though. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has its own zip code! So visiting the headquarters was an awesome experience, but it was a bit disheartening to see a panel of nine men and no women.
Facebook absolutely blew me away. First off, their campus is incredible. It felt more like the best university campus in the world than an actual workplace. But at the same time, everyone we saw walking around was having a “walking meeting”, so it’s not all unicorns and rainbows. The panel was really great too, both for having a mixed gender presence and various functions and seniority levels represented. Many weeks ago, I’d had the pleasure of listening to Carolyn Everson, VP of Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook, open the GMA Conference with a keynote speech. Prior to listening to her, I had never thought of Facebook as more than the social media giant. But Carolyn’s speech was so passionate and showcased so many different goals of Facebook, such as Internet.org, that I had decided that day already to apply to Facebook. The campus visit was just the cherry on top.
WEDNESDAY
Electronic Arts
EA was probably the most prepared for our visit. They had a presentation for each of the speakers and really touched on their day-to-day activities as well as what it’s like to work there. I don’t think I’m a gamer enough to apply (Candy Crush doesn’t really count as gaming), but it was an awesome company to visit and I can see how any gamer would love to work there.
Collective Health
When reading the itinerary of companies for the first time, Collective Health stood out to me as an odd company to visit during a tech trek. After visiting the startup though, I’m extremely glad that they were on the list. Collective Health’s goal is to simplify health insurance for its customers, showing them exactly what they would pay for different services and minimizing the legal mumbo-jumbo that even some lawyers can’t understand. I think it’s an extremely big goal, considering the number of health insurers that exist in the US. It’s a noble goal too, and very powerful. But the biggest challenge I see for them is their own success. If Collective Health continues to grow and succeed as they currently are, those big insurers that make hundreds of millions of dollars every year won’t hesitate to squash them. It’s an incredible promise, but I can’t see how they would be able to fight off the giants they will likely piss off by stealing their customers.
Paypal
Paypal was a very interesting mix during the presentation. Their friendly culture came across instantly, and the fact that it’d be a great company to work for was immediately clear. However, I would’ve liked to learn more about the day-to-day function rather than going in-depth about a few of the products they offer. By the end of the presentation, it felt more like we were clients and their sales manager was trying to sell their product to us.
THURSDAY
LinkedIn was also a great company visit. We did what by then had become the norm, a quick intro of the panelists, a presentation, Q&A, and quick tour of the office. The environment the panelists created was great. They were incredibly friendly while still answering all of our questions. The culture of the company they portrayed felt very laid back and cooperative, like everyone enjoys going to work together and then doing something social. LinkedIn has a great mission, and it’d be very fun and rewarding to be a part of their team.
Twitter has recently been in the news for not so good changes. Granted, its original CEO came back for a second round, but investors don’t see any positives to that. During the panel, every question was received as an attack, leading to them trying to defend themselves and why they were working there. By the end of it, it felt like they were just trying to convince themselves that the company will be fine. While I laugh on the inside at what I'm about to say, I think Twitter is too big to fail. The platform is great for the media, and even if it should get even tougher for the company, I can't imagine that there won't be a buyer willing to drown the company in money until the problems are fixed.
Tesla
Tesla was pretty incredible. The sole fact that the VP of Financial Services was willing to call in to the presentation in the middle of the night from Amsterdam showed their dedication to recruiting MBA candidates. Add to that the vision of the company and what they’ve been able to accomplish, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tesla become the leading car manufacturer within the next decade. Not to mention their focus on sustainable energy. A company that’s doing well by doing good is always a welcome change, and will undoubtedly succeed.
If you enjoyed this post you may also enjoy:
