YC startup offers interviews to people who get their name permanently tattooed | Hacker News Reader

YC startup offers interviews to people who get their name permanently tattooed

18 pointscodexon14 comments

Thought this was interesting. Clever recruitment tactic or too much?

linkedin.com/posts/jordan-zietz_7-people-left-our-yc-afterparty-with-permanent-activity-7487979543744614401-IFU-

How uninventive. The debased payoff is an interview for the desperate. Selection effects are terrible for both parties. Personally I find this marketing as distasteful as Monster.

Text:

  7 people left our YC afterparty with permanent tattoos.

  We hosted a YC Startup School afterparty at the LemonLime office to meet exceptional people, and find out which of them are just as crazy as we are.

  That’s why we brought an actual tattoo artist to our party and offered an instant interview to anyone who got a LemonLime tattoo.

  We are bold, we take risks, and we do things that haven’t been done before. Being committed to our mission is paramount. Pre-requisites for building the future.

  If you’re reaching out to us to apply for a job, you might want to take notes.

What did Monster do? I'm not familiar with the lore.

> We are bold, we take risks, and we do things that haven’t been done before. Being committed to our mission is paramount. Pre-requisites for building the future.

this is gonna be even worse sounding in a few years when they crash out and the founders embezzle a lot of cash

what’s their mission?

I don’t think it’s necessarily a red flag for the person getting the tattoo but it is for the company.

I have a few tattoos. All of them I mulled over for >1yr before I went through with it. I definitely wouldn’t do this. There’s others I know who are coated in them and getting another isn’t a big deal, just a bit of fun.

Some people in related threads are getting moralistic on those receiving. There are people who don’t value the space on their skin like others and it’s not a big deal or even, a fun story.

Regardless I disagree on the above that this isn’t inventive. I haven’t heard of this and there’s posts popping up talking about this company. I wouldn’t want to work for them but there’s clearly some that would. It seems like it worked for them.

> isn’t inventive. I haven’t heard of this

Using your own knowledge as a baseline is a rookie mistake.

LinkedIn lunatics should be studied as a mental illness phenomenon

Post not found This post was deleted or removed

Someone's regretting their decision?

Can't wait to get my next employer's name tattooed on my forehead.

Imagine you pass the interview and should work with these people.

1. Your life belongs to them

2. You must prioritize company over everything (according to their wishes), for exchange of 0.000001% of company shares which can get diluted anytime

3. New Chief Marketing decides to rebrand and your tattoo and part of your body belongs to trash history (who knows maybe they will require you to get new tattoo)

Shameful. Are there ethical standards to be part of YC?

remember when tech was cool

Thats gross. Sociopath behavior.

Looks like they've already had to roll it back:

----

I messed up.

At our YC afterparty, we offered free tattoos and said we’d be happy to interview anyone who got one. What I thought would be a fun, memorable way to meet people was, in reality, reckless, and instead came across as tying a permanent tattoo to job opportunity, which showed poor judgement.

Even though participants chose their own tattoos and no one was asked to get our logo, I should have understood the pressure and power dynamic created by connecting tattoos to hiring.

Regardless of said intent, turning a celebration of personalized art into a company stunt was poorly exercised judgement. We’ve taken the posts down and have spoken to everyone who participated. We’re also ready to cover associated removal costs with anyone facing any delayed regret.

I’m sorry to the people we put in that position, and to everyone who expected better from me. There’s no clever explanation here. I got carried away, and I was wrong.

For the facts: interviews were available to everyone regardless.

---

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jordan-zietz_i-messed-up-at-o...

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