Students share their thoughts with us after the first Startup Job Crawl experience. Photos by Brittany Mascio.
Last week, with the help of 22 startups and related organizations, Silicon Prairie News held its first Startup Job Crawl on “Silicon Sixth” Avenue in downtown Des Moines. More than 80 students from 12 colleges and universities participated in the event that warmly welcomed them into the community to network, hand out resumes and learn more about the startup scene.
For most, this was the first glimpse at a startup environment and many couldn’t believe the opportunities that exist in this growing ecosystem. As a May 2011 college grad myself, I could relate to much of the chatter along the walk of Sixth Avenue. I met with a few student crawlers and startup participants to get their take on the importance of connecting university students with startups.
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For more of our coverage of the Startup Job Crawl, see our post “First Startup Job Crawl sets steady pace for students and startup scene“
Brian Hadley, Central College – Freshman, Undecided
Silicon Prairie News: What brought you out to the Startup Job Crawl?
Hadley: Part of the big draw for me to this event was networking and getting to see who’s out there; what connections I can make; what sticks; what I like and what I don’t like, so I can try to shape my curriculum to match that so I can do the job that I want to the best that I can.
SPN: What did you find most valuable from your experience on the Startup Job Crawl?
Hadley: I have found that having an area like this is just incredible. I didn’t think places like this really existed.
Ben Buckmaster, Coe College – Junior, Computer Science and Religious Studies
SPN: Why’d you decide to attend the Startup Job Crawl?
Buckmaster: It would be nice to have met some people when I go out looking for a job. There are some companies here that looked promising … the companies that I saw look like places where I could see myself working, despite very different business models and very, very different things that they are looking for in a candidate.
SPN: What stood out to you that you might not have been aware of before the Startup Job Crawl?
Buckmaster: A startup seems to be a very good way to start in the first step into computer science, business or any of these things. One of these small companies are willing to pick up somebody right out of college … It’s very much – we can bring you in, and you can sit here and do these challenging problems, and that will make a difference … You can work with someone who is willing to work with someone right out of college.
“You can sit here and do these challenging problems, and that will make a difference,” – Ben Buckmaster
Emma Peterson, Founder at Tikly – University of Northern Iowa, 2010 grad
SPN: Why was it important for Tikly to be involved with the Startup Job Crawl?
Peterson: We are searching for interns, so it seemed like a pretty relevant concern … I met with different students of different confidence levels, different charisma … all of [them] have drastically different skills than I have, but they could bring something really incredibly interesting to the table … I was very, very shocked to meet these [students] that I perhaps wouldn’t have described in an internship request.
SPN: What does something like the Startup Job Crawl mean for the Des Moines Startup community?
Peterson: Honestly as a recent college grad, if there had been something like this when I was in school, that would have been valuable in shaping where I went … Imagine if you were a freshman and you met somebody … you met Ben Milne, that opens your world to a whole different level of excitement. That’s what I really dig about it… It’s totally awesome to see these key players in the Des Moines area making these huge leaps and bounds in a fantastic culture that we’re cultivating on “Sixth Avenue” … Well, unfortunate but true, there’s this huge disconnect [between] the universities and what we’re doing here … Now, the right people can know more about us because we’re reaching out to them as a community.
“The right people can know more about us because we’re reaching out to them as a community,” – Emma Peterson
Abbey Dooner, Iowa State – Junior, Marketing SPN: What brought you out to the Startup Job Crawl?
Dooner: We’re with the Iowa State Marketing Club. We heard about [it] and wanted to see the opportunities that these companies have in Des Moines.
SPN: What did you learn at the Startup Job Crawl that you might not have known before?
Dooner: Everything is very small, and the positions are really not secure … One week you’re swamped and the next week you’re not. It’s really hard to tell because it is a startup. It’s just not reliable which is kind of scary. But, they all have really good ideas. It would be really fun to be a part of seeing a company grow and take off.
Osomiyor Abalu, Iowa State – Senior, Marketing and Interdisciplinary Studies (Criminology, Criminal Justice)
SPN: Why was it important for you to come to the Startup Job Crawl?
Abalu: I wanted to give these companies a chance, and this was a really good opportunity to see what they’re all about. This is the first time I’ve thought of these companies as somewhere I could see myself interning or working.
Grant Awes, Iowa State – Senior, Advertising
SPN: Why’d you decide to attend the Startup Job Crawl?
Awes: Personally, I came out to connect with the businesses that I haven’t met yet, especially those that are more privatized and [have] less of an open door policy… I knew this was one way to get the in.
SPN: What would you like to share with other students about your experience at the Startup Job Crawl?
Awes: I want the students who came tonight to understand that you don’t have to go to a corporation right away. I want them to know about this “startup thing,” and then they’re going to tell their friends about it, then I want them to tell the higher-ups in education, “Maybe we need to change things.”
Melissa Ketcham, Central College – Freshman, Mathematics and Computer Science
SPN: Why’d you decide to attend the Startup Job Crawl?
Ketcham: I was in my intro to computer science class and I was like, “I love this, what can I do with this?” So this [Job Crawl] seemed like a really great opportunity to get to know what types of jobs are out there. These seem like really good – and really different [options], and I didn’t really know anything about it before.
SPN: What did you find most valuable from your experience on the Startup Job Crawl?
Ketcham: Being here really showed me what skills I’m going to need and I think it’s really going to help me with developing what I’m going to try to get out of college. You go to college to get a degree but there’s so much more to it than that and this is really helping me with what I need besides [the curriculum] and focus on the other stuff that gets you that job.
“You go to college to get a degree but there’s so much more to it than that.” – Melissa Ketcham
Chris Tidd, Coe College – Sophomore, Art
SPN: What brought you out to the Startup Job Crawl?
Tidd: I’ve been interested in startups for a long time … I’m from Chicago and I’ve done a lot of work for small businesses in the past and over this past summer, I worked at a startup in Chicago. I wanted to see what more startups here look like.
SPN: What stood out to you that you might not have been aware of before?
Tidd: Everybody is very interested in what they do, and they are passionate about it … and you don’t see that with normal people at normal jobs. Des Moines seems a lot more vibrant. If I plan on staying in Iowa …though, I’m originally from Chicago, Des Moines would be the place to go just from what I’ve seen here.
“You don’t see that with normal people at normal jobs.” – Chris Tidd
SPN: Why was it important for Pongr to have a presence at the Startup Job Crawl?
Cox: Well, we’re not hiring for a specific position right now, so I didn’t come here to recruit … I wanted to promote the whole Des Moines startup scene… People don’t – especially college students at universities in Iowa – don’t really realize what is going on down here. You can tell by all the surprised people here that had no idea what is going on … There is more going on than a lot of people realize. Hopefully I want to help promote the idea that you don’t have to leave Iowa as soon as you graduate.
SPN: What kind of value do you think students get out of this experience?
Cox: Ideally, if they want a job, they get a job, or a resource and a mentor for those students who are interested in starting their own companies. There’s a lot of experience and knowledge within these existing startups that can always help. The Des Moines tech community is then helped by students knowing about what’s going on here.
