Carlypso.com

Notes from Stanford's Bases Career Fair and some contrarian tips for companies and students that want to score.

Tips For Companies

Leave the swag bag at home. (Except if you’re the company that brings pizza, it’s always nice to have options from the free boxed lunch.)

Some companies try too hard. It’s like the stranger at the bar that insists on buying everyone a drink. It screams, "Please like me!" [Also, did I see some was a recruiter wearing a bear costume, like the one from the tv show Work-a-holics?]

The best companies don’t have great swag. They have good jobs. The hedge fund that your buddy works for does not give out swag, actually they are complete a-holes to everyone. And that works for them because it is step one of the interview. If you get your feelings hurt because they are not nice to you, working there is going be nightmare if you expect everyday to all candy and smiles.

Bring your laptop, do some work.

Career fairs have ebbs and flows of traffic, and when it’s a little slow you get bored and you want to leave. Your body language will reflect this quickly. Get up, get coffee. Check out the other booths. Break up your time there so you finish up with energy, because there is almost always a last wave of students that pop in scrambling from lab.

This is the perfect location to knockout emails. Sit at the table, dont worry about being off-putting. Also if an applicant is too shy to come speak to you while on your laptop, they are probably going to be too shy to ask for help later on in work environment. I'm not saying be a jerk, no I am telling to let the students self-select.

Leave company logo shirts for the interns or for the gym.   

It’s been a cliche ever since you can pick up PipedPiper shirt on Amazon.

It’s not 2009 when kids rocked Techstars American Apparel in two sizes too small. It was like a nerd badge of honor, or like supporting your favorite band, or something.... Those were the days.

Bonus Round

If you want great advice on recruiting. Listen to Lowercase Capital’s Chris Sacca. He has a great story about some kid who lost it at Google... because they were out of pheasant as a lunch option. Sacca in his new ventures has different attitude. I love that he looks to see if they have had a ‘terrible job’. Most people highlight the big name internship, when maybe they learned more about hard work going to door selling knives. Those men and women laugh in the face of rejection; they are hard as nails. [Same thing if is they are a veteran or ROTC… welcome to the next round.]

Sacca hinted that Google was either attracting and/or training a culture of entitled prima donnas. You need to ask yourself what happens with this person is faced with adversity and rejections for the first time, that they not going to crumble? Or are they a flight risk? It does not matter how talented someone is if they are gone in a few months.

TIPS FOR STUDENTS.

Have more than one resume.

Did that just blow your mind?! You just spent hours cramming every detail into a one page doc. But you also left off anything about things like travel, or the fact that you brew your own beer, or other interests, because you thought it was not important. Well it is important! Because I am not reading the top sections. I only have a few seconds to scan your resume, so tailor your career fair CV for the context. The resume is just an ice breaker... and SAT or GPA scores are not riveting conversation. So do some A/B testing. Throw a ton of resumes out there to these recruiters. 

I can care less about the some of the top sections. For the most part I am not looking at academics. (Un the interviewer is an alumni.) they don't have much reference to talk about course load… I don’t know/care that's the hardest professor….

--Also, what's the deal Stanford? Everyone has a 3.9 GPA, no hard math here... but it seems the average student has an A average. That is a lot of A’s! Do you have to commit a crime to get a B at Stanford?

Carry a blue pen and a travel bottle of Scope.

Be memorable but not too memorial. - The small bottle of mouthwash is self-explanatory. You want to pass the ‘would I sit next to this person on a long flight’ test. But here is why you should keep a blue pen on your person…. When it’s really busy the recruiter will jot a note or throw resumes into different groups. You want to be in the ‘good’ pile. You need a way to stick out. I have even seen people write noted on the back of the resume so that the blue ink will stand out in a pile of white CVs. ...Sounds nuts, but as you talk to the recruiter circle to highlight things on your resume. Later on when the company goes through a large pile and there is a bold “IS NOT AFRAID TO COLD CALL” listed on the back, HR is going to think he or she just made it in the ‘winner circle’.

Learn to market yourself. Seriously, even download marketing software.  

If you are not asking yourself ‘is this borderline spam?” Then you are not casting a big enough net. How many hours spend and colleges did you research before choosing college? You’re not a high school anymore, you need to work harder for a job.

--Protip: Talk to everyone and sign up for every interview. This included even companies you have no interest in applying to in the first place. Why? 1) Because you don’t know if that quiet wallflower of a company is actually your dream job soulmate. 2) Also you need practice with the later round interviews and the only way to do that is sign up for more interviews. After knocking out a bunch practice interviews you are going to be more confident in that face-to-face with you really want.

Lie when necessary.

When someone asks, "do you know JavaScript?” Don't reply with “No. I only know Python and C++”.  Next time you are going to say, “Actually, I’m just starting!” Because guess what... you are now learning it! Otherwise, you are basically telling the recruiter that you are not game for trying new things. It just brings the conversation to a stop.  

Save detail for later round interviews (this is especially true for startups). The CTO is going to know really quickly if can do the math with a pop quiz in a phone call interview. Facebook or Google are getting so many applicants that they need excuses to cut people out, so load up your resume for them accordingly.

Frame The Conversation.

Lead with a question. “Hi I am Jane Doe. What do you do for SoAndSo.com?” Tailor your conversation to the audience. If its the CEO or CFO, all they are asking themselves is ‘can this kid make me money, if not, can i train him/her?” if its the CMO or a customer/growth driven role they are thinking ‘Can this kid talk... or is he or she ready to cold call some customers or are they a shy little wuss.” If it’s a project manager or CTO/COO, then they are more interesting in knowing, “is this person autonomous, or how much of my time is going to get eaten to babysitting them?” I and one of the co-founders were surprised that not one person asked what our position was or anything that would give them a frame of reference.

Ask questions also reduces saying stupid things…. “I want to work for you guys!”... What? You don’t even know what that means. You have not worked there you dont know if the team is a bunch of jerks. Why not ask about other recent hires, are they like you? What is the attitude of the people in the office, or what are those qualities of your best hires? Oh, but whatever you do, DO NOT ask, “So what do you guys do at SoAndSo.com”... Never ask a question that you can look up on Google. You just come off as lazy or wasting the interviewers time.

Let’s close this up with a quick story.

There was a tall attractive undergrad that walked right up to table next to ours and before the little nerdy recruiter could pick his jaw off the ground, she already explained 1) who she was, 2) what she is looking for, and why she is going to 3) make them money and 4) be a solid hire. I overheard all this while in the middle of having a person telling me how smart he was for about 5 minutes, and at the risk of looking like a complete jerk, I was tempted to cut him off mid-sentence and get this woman's resume. Looking back, I probably screwed up. (If you know who this student is that I am talking about put her in touch.)

The point is not to be a statuesque blonde [ although, that probably doesn’t hurt]... Startups are looking for different things then MegaCorp Inc. Traditional niceities and behavior don’t matter. Formality is out the window; we need people that get stuff done. Your resume says that you love to cold call and you are not afraid to get your hand dirty! Are you serious, I love you! It is not a fluffy, boring summer internship at large firm, filing documents. You are going to work and generate value with your internship in a small company.

When gas prices go down, sales of electric vehicles go down too, right? And by the same token, you'd think that lower gasoline prices must mean increased sales of gas guzzlers and decreased sales of electric vehicles and hybrids.

"Nobody is trading in their Nissan Leaf for an Escalade. And vice versa," said Chris Coleman, founder of Carlypso, an online firm that facilitates private-party sales of used cars.

Carlypso's research showed the ratio of passenger car sales to truck sales at 51% to 49% in December 2013. By June 2014, that had shifted considerably, with truck sales leading passenger car sales by 53% to 47%.

Who wore it better? Katy Perry Vs This Camaro.

How to get your startup into the hottest accelerator

They don’t like two MBA founders, so try to de-emphasize you went to business school” we were told shortly before our interview with Y-Combinator, the well-known startup accelerator that provides seed money, advice, and connections to entrepreneurs.

It’s no secret that the selective accelerator doesn’t necessarily appreciate the normal MBA mindset. “Write code and talk to customers” are two of the mantra’s of YC, and so it’s tough to see how an MBA better prepares you for either one.

That being said a lot of the normal MBA mindset doesn’t apply to starting a company either. Much of modern MBA programs focus on basic business accumen (strategy, finance, etc.) or people management. As a startup founder, you’ll have to do everything yourself initially. My co-founder and I were lucky enough to go to Stanford GSB, where we could self-select into learning a ton more about startups.

Buying a used BMW 540i is like having a girlfriend that you are embarrassed to keep around... together everything is perfect, but you can't ignore that this is not your long-term solution.

You will ask youself, “So how did we get here?”

Every so often it can be healthy to mix it up or go for a road trip. Spend a little too much time and a little too much money in Vegas / Oktoberfest / Ibiza. Make some calculated yet questionable decisions. Eventually, you will find someone and debate whether this is a great idea or a terrible idea… maybe both?

In the world of buying used cars. the Beemer is ‘that’ relationship. At first you were seduced by each ride, but every day you are also starting to worry if this going to work out long-term.  By many accounts, the BMW 540i is perfect match for most people. Auto blogs like Jalopnik are pushed you with  every reason you should buy this car right now. [http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/four-reasons-why-you-need-to-buy-a-bmw-e39-540i-right-n-1659284463] 

You don't know how your mom is going to react when you bring her by the house for Thanksgiving.  

The 540i is a sports car you can easily pick up for right around $5000, [check out a pricing calculator www.carlypso.com ]. That is a lot of car for not at lot of money. You think you may love her, but deep down you know that this is not going to work out.

It’s admittedly a really good looking car. Having a German-engineered sedan sitting in front of your house feels pretty good, especially when you paid next to nothing. Your mom and dad are going to ask how you can afford her, or why you did not get something less ‘flashy’.... Maybe they are right. 

There is a lot of 'fish in the sea'. This is the best time to buy a used car, and you have a ton of options: http://time.com/money/3449779/used-car-prices-best-time-to-buy/]

The problems were always there, but you ignored the red flags.

The car was probably designed during Oktoberfest. There is a solid list of common problems. So common, in fact, you might say more like ‘hidden costs’:

Radiator: the plastic bursts frequently. So get ready for that break down on the rock climbing vacation, or have one sick day in your pocket when you are going to be super late for work.

Timing guide failure: That's 20 hours of garage time you (or your mechanic) can get some alone time with this babe.

The VANOS will fail. {Not sure what it does or what it means, but it will be broken.}

Window regular every year craps out. [Free air conditioning! Yeah awesome…]

Total it all up… That's five grand, amigo!

However, on the bright side you also get to buy specialized tools for these inevitable problems. It’s a gearhead’s dream; a gift that keeps on giving. And you do get to impress your friends with your new collection of 'tool porn'.

At Carlyso.com we love our cars and we love our customers.

Is it cost-effective to be a student with a car? Or should I sell my car?

We have recently helped a number of college students sell their vehicles, and we noticed a trend: based on their needs and budget, owning and operating a car actually doesn’t make sense for most students. So should you sell your car? Take into consideration the following tips and insights.

It may seem counterintuitive, and a novel perspective in our car-obsessed society, but, in many cases, you could actually save time and money by selling your car and taking advantage of the many available and super convenient modern alternatives like public transportation, car sharing, Uber, Lyft, etc.. The transportation game is changing; sure it’s ‘normal’ to have a car, but does it make sense for you?

I know you’re thinking, but I need my car. That may be true. Even if you don't live very close to school, or your part-time job is off-campus, or public transport is a good walk away, it’s still worth your time to look into whether the benefits of having a car really outweigh the costs. The aim of the post is to help you make an informed decision, whether you’re thinking of selling your car or even purchasing a vehicle.

“At first I would drive home on weekends, but more and more I was paying for a car that just sat there and collected campus parking tickets” - Matt H. ’13 UCLA

One student we recently worked with figured out how much it was costing him each year to own and operate his car and decided to sell it. As a result, we decided to do this post and really dig into the details of what it was costing him to own his car. His situation mirrors many college students’ and should help you to answer the question: “so should I sell my car?”

For the purpose of this blog, we used a used 2011 Honda Civic DX Coupe 2D, with 45,000 miles, which is one of the most popular cars among students. The price, as determined by the Carlypso Pricing Engine, was roughly $8,500, with a $1000 down payment, as purchased by a 26-year-old California resident attending Stanford. 

Taking into account all the costs of owning this particular car, we came out with this data, which we hope will help you reach an informed and confident answer to our dilemma: “should I sell my car?”

Sample Cost of Car Ownership for a College Student:

We’re data nerds, so this table makes the relative costs of owning a car pretty clear to us, but what does this mean for you? Something like, based on this data, a driver of similar age owning and operating a similar vehicle incurs a weekly cost of $140-$165 per week, or $20-24 per day. This cost would be even higher for undergraduate students, who are hit with elevated young driver insurance premiums. As a college student, it’s likely hard to even imagine consistently spending this much money on a combination of public transportation, car sharing, and services such as Lyft and Uber. Considering that this doesn’t even take into account the time wasted fighting soul-draining traffic and hunting for parking, let alone unexpected fender benders that happen to the best of us, selling your car is something that should at least be considered. 

So, maybe this article and our data-crunching has perhaps shifted your perspective, and has you saying, “Yea, I want to sell my car, but what should I do about it?” Many college students are first time sellers, and are way too busy with school to sit around waiting for flakes and weirdos on Craigslist, but don’t want to get ripped off by a dealer who will only give them a fraction of the value of their vehicle. Maybe you have other concerns as well, like worries over the inherent safety risks that showing your car to random strangers from the Internet entails—as a woman, this an important factor for me.

These are issues that we, recent MBA grads from Stanford and MIT, faced and saw our classmates dealing with as well, and that’s why we founded Carlypso. These are the people and problems that matter to us.

In our next blog geared toward students, we will explore the “costs” associated with using your vehicle for one of the multitude of new services such as Uber and Lyft.

Our most recent video interview with Forbes.