4 ms·
Tell HN: Will design for food
Hey HN. I'm a senior UI designer (6+ years of experience. Have worked for Disney, MTV, United Nations, large banks and others cool companies).
I'm flying to California in the upcoming weeks and I'm looking to meet and work with cool startups for free. Yes, free. (Company size doesn't matter. NDA's are ok too).
I can help with branding, UI (web/mobile), presentation decks, & product design. For free. No equity either.
In exchange, I'm asking for food and a room to sleep. Ideally I will work with each startup up to 1 week and then move to another city/startup.
If you're interested lets chat!
- parque 10y agoAnyone in Miami? Happy to go there too! :D
- jedmeyers 10y agoAre you flying from overseas on tourist visa?
- gerby 10y agoYou want to know what, I'm going to call you out for this. I don't like people who are politically correct, and if you work for the Government, and truly believe that someone can "work" in another country without actually really working (in my opinion) because they're not making any money, and then have that person be rejected at the border for life (yes this really happens), among other things, for planning to "work" (according to you), for no money, you're part of the problem. This person is not asking for money. Stop trying to loop them into getting themselves in trouble, by admitting anything like that on a public forum, because I see you as potentially a politically-correct government troll collecting intelligence for evil purposes.
- ludamad 10y agoOr this is an innocent question leading up a civil discussion of US law :)
- gerby 10y agoI know a person who was helping his girlfriend in the US paint a house, for no money, who got deported for "working" even though there was no money involved, and it destroyed his relationship and now has him banned from the Republic. I have strong feelings about an overbearing government and was speaking my mind. It was also a warning to the person who posted the thread not to tell people anything like that on a public forum, as a public service.
- jeremy_wiebe 10y agoAre you aware that border officials don't care about whether you are receiving compensation? If you are doing work an American could have performed they'll care. Note: I'm Canadian but live close to the border and cross occasionally.
- gerby 10y agoYes, that's why I was suggesting the guy say nothing about his citizenship/visa status if he was indeed planning to help people for free. I'm the type of guy, where even if I'm open-minded about the government (and might even help them with my startup), I'm sticking up the little guy. I would personally never "work" in the US without the right visa, because I am well-aware of the laws and am a very knowledgable man. I'm also reasonable, and the US government is not reasonable sometimes. I see that changing under Donald Trump, because I firmly believe that he will change his mind and end up being socially liberal because of people like Peter Thiel. I'm just doing a public service for this innocent man.
- ryanx435 10y agowhat does this have to do with trump?
- gerby 10y agoPrevious presidents enabled laws around people being considered "working" when they're not making a dime and it's destroyed families because noones considered changing it yet. I'd like to see Trump change that. Downvote the fuck out of me, do I care? Of course not. I will always stick up for the little guy even when it's unpopular.
- grzm 10y agoYou care enough about down-voting to comment on it. Please don't.
- DrScump 10y ago"Previous presidents enabled laws around people being considered "working" when they're not making a dime" Please identify any one such law. Bonus points for describing how a President implements laws on his own.
- jackbquick 10y agoIs a portfolio link too much to ask when an individual petitions others to accept their brilliance and provide room and board?
- coderholic 10y agoLink from profile: http://lafolie.co/ http://lafolie.co/
- keyle 10y agoBe sure to mention that you have the appropriate visa to allow this, and show what you did for those big brands! Good luck, sounds like a fun adventure!
- parque 10y agoI do have a business (not work) visa. Which allows me to make business in the US but not get hired. Which I'm not looking for first hand. Thanks!
- jedmeyers 10y agoIf this is B1 visa you are talking about, then it does not allow you to exchange your services for compensation. The only B1 traveling purpose that might fit you, in theory, is "training" where you are reimbursed for your living expenses, so you might look into that. https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/BusinessVisa%20Purpose%20Listings%20March%202014%20flier.pdf https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/BusinessVisa%20Pu...
- deepnotderp 10y agoWill you be coming to portland?
- parque 10y agoNever been to Portland! Happy to go there! Hit me up!
- deepnotderp 10y agoAny timeline? Also, what exactly are you doing? Seems like you have the money to go out and fly places, so why do you need a place to stay? Just asking.
- parque 10y agoThe whole point is about visiting places I never been to before (or some that I loved and want to go back like DC, Miami, etc) and getting to know local entrepreneurs there. This would be sometime next month. I'm scheduling my trip now because the amount of offers I've received it's pretty great. Drop me a line and let's chat.
- doozy 10y agoIf you are good at something never do it for free.
- paulcole 10y agoYou should write Chicken Soup for the Designer's Soul-- just don't do it for free. Seriously though, as easy as it is to post cliches, can't you imagine situations where you should work for free? Like in the situation OP is in, a foreign national who can't accept payment for work in the US?
- ajkjk 10y agoThat aphorism assumes some things about a person's goals in life that don't hold for everybody.
- Havoc 10y agoAgreed, though this is perhaps an exception. Its obviously a lifestyle choice rather than a long-term strategy: >I will work with each startup up to 1 week and then move to another city/startup.
- jackbquick 10y agoI have 12+ years of engineering experience and would do it for free given it provided valuable experience or connections that I couldn't obtain otherwise
- Bladtman 10y agoUnless you are batman.
- kaa2102 10y agoLet me know if you come to the Washington, DC area!
- parque 10y agoHappy to go there. DC is my favorite city in the US. Let's chat!
- DrScump 10y agoWhat you seek to do is illegal, and I'd consider any company who offers to take you up on it as suspect.
- parque 10y agoIt would be illegal if I work AND get payed. The whole point is not really about this. I'm doing this just so I can get to know and work first hand with a bunch of awesome entrepreneurs and also visit places that I haven't been before!
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- DrScump 10y agoIt would be illegal if I work AND get payed No, minimum wage laws still apply; Federal law offers a baseline while many states have a higher threshold.
- peller 10y agoCan you explain how what OP's proposing is any different from bartering? What makes wage laws apply, other than OP's perhaps not their primary language word choice? I'm genuinely curious, because it sounds like an entirely reasonable request to me - but I'm no lawyer.
- DrScump 10y agoYou can't "barter" labor, either. Allowing it would leave room for a return of a lot of abuse, especially in the hospitality industry (e.g. jobs that elicit substantial tips, like a cocktail waitress in a resort). Whatever you think of their effect on what the OP wants to do, such laws are well-intended and are a response to a legacy of past such abuses.
- coldtea 10y agoYou must be fun at parties.
- dorianm 10y agoIf it's setup as a freelancer with a business visa (B1), you should be fine.
- irunbackwards 10y agoSuper cool! You should blog about your experience(s), at least the non-NDA ones!
- parque 10y agoYeah. I'll be writting a blog post about this whole process, including this post on HN. How it all started, what we achieved, etc. Thanks!