How I got the job at Friend[1]When I joined, the company was Tab. I've changed all references of Tab, within this blog, to Friend, for ease of understanding.
I'd already been following Avi Schiffmann for a while. I'd found him from his Internet Activism days and I was enthralled by the team.
So when he started talking about a new project, I was very curious.
It ticked the right boxes:
1. Someone I respected who is young and hungry
2. Working on a project I find fascinating
3. That requires skills I have and enjoy (I was studying Mechatronic Engineering and Computer Science at the time)
Initially, I tried DM'ing him about it (from Australia):
(and obviously got no response)
Over time I eventually became so antsy about not wanting to lose the opportunity, that I took the semester off uni and booked a one way flight to SF. I figured it would improve my odds if I was there in person.
But when I arrived in SF, Avi flew out to Lisbon. So I had ~4 weeks where I couldn't meet with him.
During that time, I spent 100% of it trying to improve my odds of working there. I went to networking events that his roommates hosted, to get closer to them. I went to coworking spaces of people who knew him. And I spent all my remaining time grinding iOS dev, because Avi had tweeted about needing it for the team.
By 2-3 weeks in, ~5 people in his circle had now DM'd him telling him to get back to me. But, to no avail.
Eventually, though, I met Arib.
After hearing my story, Arib immediately facetimed Avi, and handed me the phone. After chatting with Avi for 5 mins, he explained to me what they were working on at the time, and said to play around with the ideas.
Later that night I sent him a mockup of that idea he was thinking on.
He replied and so I went on to make another iteration... and another... and a mockup of a device alteration...
But again, to no avail. He'd stopped responding after his first reply.
In the meantime, I was tinkering on making my own version of Friend and was building projects on ideas his roommates had, to try get their attention.
Eventually, Avi landed back in SF and I reached out to every person I'd met who could get me in the same room.
But they were busy, or sick, or Avi was sick or yadda yadda yadda.
No one could get me in the room.
So I started becoming very impatient.
It had now been ~5 weeks since I'd landed in SF with no results.
I did some things I won't even say here.
Eventually though, I made a plan to sneak into his office.
Avi worked out of a locked-off co-working space, but I had been to one of their networking events (remember from before?) and so I knew the address.
So, I made my way over.
Luckily, by some Grace of God, another person who worked out of the co-working space was approaching the door, at the same time I was walking by.
So, I pretended I also went there, he held the door out open behind him, and I followed him in.
I ended up waiting in the lobby for almost 2 hours.
Eventually, his roommate Tom (the roommate whose attention I was trying to get before, remember?) told Avi I was there.
Avi came out, and we talked for a few hours. He basically said he appreciates the hustle, but there's just not a position open right now. And to "keep an eye out because he'll let me know when there is".
Obviously I pushed back and kept asking things like "yeah, but what's something I can just help you guys with right now?"
Avi eventually said he just wanted clarity on what exactly the final product should be. That was the most valuable goal right now.
So after that conversation, I worked on two things:
- Making a Friend replica to understand what the product would feel like
- Interviewing people who were interested in Friend, to understand what exactly they were looking for
Eventually, I made this post.
And Avi DM'd me asking to meet again the next day.
We chatted, and Avi wanted to do a work trial for 7 days where I would tackle a specific idea. After those 7 days, we would come to a decision.
And eventually, after 10 days, I got sent an offer.
That's the story!
Wish you the best.