How I got the job at Friend

Be forewarned. This story makes me look a little crazy.

I'd already been following Avi Schiffmann for a while. I'd found him from his Internet Activism days and I was enthralled by the team, they were a huge inspiration for me.

So when Avi started talking about a new project, I was very curious.

Even before he properly revealed the project, I knew I wanted to work on it. It ticked the right boxes:

1. Someone I respected who is young and hungry

2. Working on a project I find fascinating

3. That requires skills I have and enjoy (I was studying Mechatronic Engineering and Computer Science at the time)

Initially, I tried DM'ing him about it (from Australia):

(and obviously got no response)

Over time I eventually became so antsy about not wanting to lose the opportunity, that I took the semester off uni and booked a one way flight to SF. I knew no one there and had no idea where I'd stay. I just figured it would improve my odds, if I was there in person.

However, when I arrived in SF, Avi flew out. He went to Lisbon or something. So I had 4 weeks where I couldn't meet with him.

During that time, I spent 100% of it trying to improve my odds of working there. I went to networking events that his roommates hosted, to get closer to them. I went to coworking spaces of people who knew him. And I spent all my remaining time grinding iOS dev, because Avi had tweeted about needing it for the team.

(That tweet ^ was my iPhone wallpaper at the time)

By 2-3 weeks in, ~5 ish people in his circle had now DM'd him telling him about me. But to no avail, I never heard back (obvious in hindsight)

However, eventually I met Arib Khan at F. Inc.

After hearing my story, Arib immediately facetimed Avi, and just handed me the phone. After chatting with Avi for 5 mins, he explained to me what they were working on at the time, and said to play around with the ideas.

That same night, I sent him a mockup of that idea he was thinking on.

He replied and so I went on to make another demo... and another tweet idea for a product direction... and a mockup of a device alteration.

But again, to no avail. He'd stopped responding after his first reply.

In the meantime, I was tinkering on making my own version of Friend and was building projects on ideas his roommates had, to try get their attention.

Eventually, Avi landed back in SF and I reached out to every person I'd met who could get me in the same room.

But they were busy, or sick, or Avi was sick or yadda yadda yadda.

No one could get me in the room.

So I started becoming really impatient.

It had now been ~5 weeks since I'd landed in SF with no results...

I was desperate.

At this point, I did some other things that I won't even say here.

Eventually, I made a plan to sneak into his office.

At this point, you might be thinking: Jackson, this is a bit much. Aren't you worried about being too creepy?

To be honest, I didn't care. Extreme people get extreme results and I was very intentional on toeing the line between creepy and determined, as closely as I could.

Avi worked out of a locked-off co-working space, but I had been to one of their networking events (remember from before?) and so I knew the address.

On the day of, I almost turned around before getting there. I thought maybe I'd toed too far past the line.

But, by some Mandate of Heaven, another person who worked out of the co-working space was approaching the door at the same time I was walking by.

So, I pretended I also went there and he held the door out open behind him, and I followed him in...

I ended up waiting in the lobby for almost 2 hours.

Eventually, his roommate Tom (the roommate whose attention I was trying to get, remember?) told Avi I was there.

Avi came out, and we talked for a few hours. He basically said he appreciates the hustle, but there's just not a position open right now. And to "keep an eye out because he'll let me know when there is".

Obviously I pushed back and kept asking things like "yeah, but what's something I can just help you guys with right now?"

Avi eventually said he just wanted clarity on what exactly the final product should be. That that was the most valuable goal right now.

Say no more.

So after that conversation, I worked every waking hour on two things:

- Making a Friend replica to understand what the product would feel like

- Interviewing people who were interested in Friend, to understand what exactly they were looking for

Eventually, I made this post

And Avi DM'd me asking to meet again the next day...

Turns out some circumstances had literally just happened internally, that created an open position within the team.

We chatted, and Avi wanted to do a work trial for 7 days where I would tackle a specific idea. After those 7 days, we would finalise an agreement.

I strained my body extremely hard in that work trial. No sleep, lots of caffeine, never leaving the office.

But eventually, after 10 days, I got sent an offer.

And that's it.

That's how I got the job at Friend.

The man who forges his path through brute force is capable of anything.

Wish you the best.