Mobile Mondays Boston -- “Common problems facing mobile companies”

Mobile Mondays Boston was hosted at Sloan today, with a panel on “Common problems facing mobile companies.”

Moderator was Mark Newhall of Idealwave. The panel consisted of:
John Simon is a co-founder and managing director of General Catalyst
Randy Bogue is the founder and managing director of Venator Partners
Rob Adler is currently the CEO of 80108
Ann Walsh, is the Director of Human Resources for JumpTap

This was a true mobile effort, with moderator Mark Newhall taking questions via text.

Some notable comments ...

... on finding talent in Boston:

Ann Walsh: "People in the mobile industry in Boston are finding it a tight market for finding quality talent."

John Simon: "Handset developers -- Boston is not so much of a hotbed for this area. Typically we are relocating talent from other geographies"

Randy Bogue: "Relocation gets killed in the bedroom" -- referring to the family aspect and that employers should consider that angle when discussing relocation.

... on common mistakes by candidates during the recruitment process:

John Simon: "Not trying the product, not researching the product, looking at the competitors, not having played with it."

Ann Walsh: "Candidates don't ask the right questions. They don't take time to investigate the company they are interviewing."

Rob Adler: "Someone who just wants a job at your company is not a good person to hire. "

... on qualities that make candidates stand out:

John Simon: "Being mission driven ... results orientation ... a passion to build something that makes a difference."

Randy Bogue: "It's the attitude that differentiates the people "

... on what CEOs look for in top talent

Ann Walsh: "People who are leaders and who can mentor the staff ... make sure the people can take the team to the next level ... Energy, passion, not afraid to take risks."

Rob Adler: "Reliability and consistency in someone who works with you everyday."

... on advice for managers during interviews

Randy Bogue: "Keep it in neutral." Frequently, within the first 5 seconds to 2 minutes, you will have formed an opinion on the person (whether good or bad). If it's good, you'll focus more on the positive elements. If it's bad, you'll reinforce this opinion with what you hear during the interview. 

... on differences between on-deck and off-deck models

John Simon: "The most powerful models in mobile are on 'on deck' ... there are a number of areas where off-deck is going to pick up ... three areas that will facilitate the transition:

1) increasing network speed makes it easy and convenient to go off-deck

2) consumers are being trained to go off-deck

3) there are a number of business models that are being available to go off-deck ... mainly through advertising opened up via search."

There was much more to it but my typing couldn't keep up :)

technorati tags:mobile, monday, jumptap, catalyst, ventures, momo

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