6 ms·

How I Graduated from Harvard, Turned Down Google, Got a Job Through Twitter

dbz 16y ago
Are you an engineer? I didn't quite understand what your major was.
- theashworld 16y ago
  he mentions some sales position somewhere, so I don't think he's eng
  - dbz 16y ago
    That's what I was thinking too, so I don't think the "start-up will die" rule applies to him if he had joined Google. I personally would love to be recruited by Google when the time comes because even though I'll be Employee number 300,001 - I'll learn a LOT and be able to help the next startup/company I am with.
  - aresant 16y ago
    http://www.linkedin.com/in/derekflanzraich http://www.linkedin.com/in/derekflanzraich
    - kunjaan 16y ago
      > Graduating Harvard Senior. Digital Media Entrepreneur. Builder. Disrupter. That helps.
  - derekflanzraich 16y ago
    Majored in Government/Poli Sci. It was a flexible major, by which I mean I ignored it entirely.
    - inboulder 16y ago
      So basically you majored in arts and crafts at Harvard (and you're surprised BSing poli sci papers wasn't difficult?), wrote a bunch of blog posts and tweets, have an annoying 'young upstart' linkedin page, but don't know a linked list for a lincoln log, and are going into a non-technical entry level position for a random start-up?
      - derekflanzraich 16y ago
        Yup.
kenjackson 16y ago
Good post. Although one thing I don't get. You comment about not being being happy with (potentially) being employee #20,000 at Google. But why did you attend Harvard? Harvard is a pretty large school, and certainly far more than 20,000 students have graduated from it. I've met many great people who skipped college altogether. Do you think that you were pushed into Harvard, and if you could do it again, you'd skip it? Or at least attend a far smaller school? It just seems like to me Harvard (or most any college) is a big company where you pay them, rather than them paying you. Of course at Harvard you get to learn a lot. But I expect you'd learn as much in four years at Google (or even Microsoft or IBM for that matter). Just curious...
- derekflanzraich 16y ago
  Great point, really. With Harvard, the honest answer is that I didn't truly consider many other options-- I think I'm not the only person who'd say I attended Harvard because it accepted me. That being said, I did learn a ton (more so from my friends and extracurriculars than academics). Harvard is obviously an academic institution, so technically I paid them for the opportunity to do whatever I wanted & use their own resources. If I didn't want to do something, I didn't. If I wanted to spend all my time building sweet shit, I pretty much did. Google, in a large way, is built on this model-- but it's still a job, it's still got serious responsibilities, and, most importantly, I wasn't sure I'd learn as much there in four years as I would somewhere else. But I guess we'll see, right?
jonknee 16y ago
I'm not sure an internet TV Guide qualifies as "awesome shit that matters", but hey congrats on the new gig. At least you'll have responsibilities a lot faster than at Google.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
yoseph 16y ago
Derek, I think what you've done is great and I wish you the best of luck. I have just one little piece of unqualified advice. In the last couple paragraphs, the blog post felt a little too much like marketing spiel. I get that you're a non-tech (me too) but be aware of that line. It can easily put people off.

dbz 16y ago

Are you an engineer? I didn't quite understand what your major was.

theashworld 16y ago
he mentions some sales position somewhere, so I don't think he's eng
- dbz 16y ago
  That's what I was thinking too, so I don't think the "start-up will die" rule applies to him if he had joined Google. I personally would love to be recruited by Google when the time comes because even though I'll be Employee number 300,001 - I'll learn a LOT and be able to help the next startup/company I am with.
- aresant 16y ago
  http://www.linkedin.com/in/derekflanzraich http://www.linkedin.com/in/derekflanzraich
  - kunjaan 16y ago
    > Graduating Harvard Senior. Digital Media Entrepreneur. Builder. Disrupter. That helps.
- derekflanzraich 16y ago
  Majored in Government/Poli Sci. It was a flexible major, by which I mean I ignored it entirely.
  - inboulder 16y ago
    So basically you majored in arts and crafts at Harvard (and you're surprised BSing poli sci papers wasn't difficult?), wrote a bunch of blog posts and tweets, have an annoying 'young upstart' linkedin page, but don't know a linked list for a lincoln log, and are going into a non-technical entry level position for a random start-up?
    - derekflanzraich 16y ago
      Yup.

Good post. Although one thing I don't get. You comment about not being being happy with (potentially) being employee #20,000 at Google. But why did you attend Harvard? Harvard is a pretty large school, and certainly far more than 20,000 students have graduated from it. I've met many great people who skipped college altogether. Do you think that you were pushed into Harvard, and if you could do it again, you'd skip it? Or at least attend a far smaller school? It just seems like to me Harvard (or most any college) is a big company where you pay them, rather than them paying you. Of course at Harvard you get to learn a lot. But I expect you'd learn as much in four years at Google (or even Microsoft or IBM for that matter). Just curious...

derekflanzraich 16y ago
Great point, really. With Harvard, the honest answer is that I didn't truly consider many other options-- I think I'm not the only person who'd say I attended Harvard because it accepted me. That being said, I did learn a ton (more so from my friends and extracurriculars than academics). Harvard is obviously an academic institution, so technically I paid them for the opportunity to do whatever I wanted & use their own resources. If I didn't want to do something, I didn't. If I wanted to spend all my time building sweet shit, I pretty much did. Google, in a large way, is built on this model-- but it's still a job, it's still got serious responsibilities, and, most importantly, I wasn't sure I'd learn as much there in four years as I would somewhere else. But I guess we'll see, right?

jonknee 16y ago

I'm not sure an internet TV Guide qualifies as "awesome shit that matters", but hey congrats on the new gig. At least you'll have responsibilities a lot faster than at Google.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

yoseph 16y ago

Derek, I think what you've done is great and I wish you the best of luck. I have just one little piece of unqualified advice. In the last couple paragraphs, the blog post felt a little too much like marketing spiel. I get that you're a non-tech (me too) but be aware of that line. It can easily put people off.