Steven Cox - Founder of TakeLessons. Build Something You're Proud Of

Steven Cox Interview on Fox 5 News - Finding the Right San Diego StartUp Company to Work For

 

 

http://StevenCox.com. Even with the unemployment rate in San Diego hovering around 10%, the city's startup scene is bustling with activity and creating new jobs for San Diegans. TakeLessons.com CEO, Steven Cox, talks about the 10x100x100 event where 10 startup companies that have collectively raised over $100 million in venture capital and will be hiring 100 new employees next year.

A lot of technical and web people move to the San Francisco area to find work, but you're saying there's work right here and they don't have to move?
• That's Right!
• Cheaper to buy and rent housing here than in other hotbeds such as SV, NYC.
• A lot of startups are hiring

What's it like working for a startup?
• Incredible! Faster pace. Quicker decisions. My startup: http://TakeLessons.com

For College Graduates:
o Instead of making coffee, make a difference.
o No cogs in the wheel
o Chance to work on things at a young age -- (BEST BUY example)

For Senior people
o A chance to take your knowledge and build something you're proud of.
o Make a positive, lasting impact.
o Grow leaders underneath you.
o Potential stock upside

Everyday, I wake up thankful that I get to go to work.
o Focused on building the new sort of company.
• A company with a conscious.
• A company that makes more than money, it makes a positive difference.
o Awesome people all focused on building a great company.
o Super laid-back dress code.
o No politics.

A lot of young Internet companies didn't make it in the dotcom crash. What should a job prospect consider when looking at startups?

Not all startups are created equal.
• Management -- is there adult supervision? People who have built and ran companies before.
• Culture -- Do they have a strong sense of purpose, yet flexible enough to change on a dime.
• Funding -- are they well-funded. http://CrossLinkCapital.com
• Product or Service -- is it something that truly adds value to people's lives?

What type of jobs do startups hire for and what tips do you have on landing a job there?
• Big focus on Software engineering, product management and developmet, IT
• Marketing, Sales, Customer Support, Finance, HR

Tell us a little bit about the 10 x 100 x 100 event.
• StartupsAreBetter.com
• 6pm Dec 1 at Sweet Labs (http://sweetlabs.com)
• Joe Kraus -- Google Ventures focused on mobile, gaming, local services
• Michael Robertson -- SD Local tech hero. MP3.com
• Focused on engineering and product talent

More information can be found at these sites:
http://10x100x100 and http://StevenCox.com

San Diego Tech Startup Launch Quickpitch Event

On Wednesday, November 2, Brant Cooper and the gang hosted the San Diego Tech Launch event where ten start-ups gave their 30-second elevator pitch and everyone got a chance to vote on their favorites. The Tech Launch was also a great place to network and dig for talent.

Funded companies that attended included TakeLessons, Brightscope (ran by super-talented Mike Alfred),  and event sponsor, SweetLabs (ran by my buddy Chester Ng).

Below are videos and links to watch.

The Participants:

 

Official Videos:

The Winners (1-3 place)

The Runner Ups

My Video

 

TakeLessons Founder Interviewed on StartUpLucky.com

"Steven Cox stopped by to tell us all about his San Diego based startup, TakeLessons.com which, as the name simply implies, is an online marketplace for finding music & voice instructors in over 400 cities in the US. Steven and his team are working extremely hard and have provided a service that simply didn’t exist before now. Every instructor brought into their service is carefully screened for background, ability, and all other pertinent qualifications. Also, TakeLessons has created a very open social platform so that students can rate their instructors and also connect with each other as they reach existing goals and create new ones along the way."

Can't Find What You Want on YouTube?

"Browsing YouTube is like panning for gold dust in a shallow river of dung"
-Maxim Magazine August, 2007

I think Maxim may be a 'bit' over the top, but it's always fun to quote them (...hey, I read just for the articles...)

Prediction for the future: YouTube has started a revolution that has finally caught on with middle America. For the first time, moms, kids, businesses, and everyone else can quickly learn to publish engaging video.

As more and more UGC (user generated content) floods YouTube, finding good, relevant video content will become more and more difficult. Sites like Blinx are focusing their efforts on becoming the Google of video. It's a good idea.

This leaves a wide-open space for smaller, focused vertical sites to aggregate highly targeted and useful video content related around one subject matter. A vertical video site can identify the good content, tag it using long-tail wording, and make it more useful for a user who is looking for deep content.

An example would be guitar videos. It's not just about "how to play Stairway to Heaven". It's about trying to learn "how to properly incorporate triads into your electric guitar solo using hammer-ons". For most people, they won't know what triads or hammer-ons are. But if you're REALLY into learning guitar, not only will you know what these long-tail terms mean, you'll be more apt to be loyal to a site that knows what they are as well.