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Job Opening: Software Engineer / VP of Engineering at EmptySpaceAds

After I left Google and got the travel bug out of my system, I joined a tiny funded start-up called EmptySpaceAds. What excited me about EmptySpaceAds was more than just the product (although that was pretty neat) - it was the opportunity. With just one employee, EmptySpaceAds was small enough that I would lead the engineering effort. But, at the same time, it was funded. Funding = credibility + a great network of advisors. Our investors are actively involved - in all the right ways. How many other teeny tiny start-ups can say that they have funding? Not many! ;-)

Now, six months later, it looks like I may need to relocate and thus EmptySpaceAds must hire a replacement.

Know a rockstar developer - who wants to lead a start-up? Read on for the job posting!

Software Engineer / VP of Engineering at EmptySpaceAds

With over 40% of the space on web page consisting of "empty space" (margins, etc), empty space is the remaining element of the web to be monetized. EmptySpaceAds is turning previously wasted empty space into a growing revenue stream for our web publishers. Publishers no longer have to decide whether to use the margins for ads or for the aesthetic
value of empty space - they can do both!

EmptySpaceAds is a small but well-funded startup. We are funded by Second Ave Partners.

Our Product

EmptySpaceAds allows a website owner to utilize the page margins for both "empty space" (eg, pages look better with a bit of emptiness), and for ads.

How does that work?

Our ads only show up when a visitor's mouse hovers over the margins of a page. This means that when you visit a web page, it'll look just as "pretty" as it did before. But, when your mouse hovers over the margins, an ad will (gracefully) fade in behind the margin.

And, here's the best part: because the ads are reacting to the user's mouse rather than being always-present, users don't experience "banner blindness." Publishers will see high click-through rates.

Who We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who is more than an engineer. Someone who can jump in and make decisions. Someone who can prioritize and schedule our product releases. Someone who can lead the engineering effort. Someone who can drive our product's success.

As employee #2, you will be instrumental to the company's success!

Here's why you should join us:
  • You will have incredible impact in our company as our first Software Engineer
  • You will lead our engineering effort... future developers we hire will report to you
  • Learn what it takes to run a startup. Interact with the founder daily and attend meeting with the company's investors.
  • You will reboot your career. You'll learn more, fail more, succeed more, and take away more than you ever would at the equivalent Big Company experience.
Hard Requirements:
  • B.S. Computer Science or equivalent experience
  • Minimum two years of professional experience
  • Possess initiative, leadership abilities, and the ability to make difficult engineering decisions
  • Location: Seattle, WA (Pioneer Square)
  • Full Time Only
How To Apply

Please email jobs@emptyspaceads.com with the following information:
  • Resume / CV
  • [OPTIONAL] Pointers to software you've written. Examples: open source contributions, examples of source code you've written, examples of live production software you wrote or were a contributor to
  • [OPTIONAL] Links to places you discuss software. Examples: your blog, your website, etc


5 comments:

Silicon said...

Hi there.. I was looking for internships for this summer 09 which is when I stumbled upon your post.

I wanted to know more about the startup because I am interested in business too.

I have a question about the business model of http://www.emptyspaceads.com/

If I did not want to disturb my blog readers with too many ads, I could always write a javascript that will do the exact same thing that emptyspaceads can do on my page.

I am not sure if I will be willing to share half my revenue just for them to install a script on my page.

The models will sound right if you offered advertisements by finding advertisers for my blog.

I am not sure..

Gayle said...

That's true. Like any product / service, you could avoid the cost of paying for it by re-implementing the product yourself. But, how many bloggers have the time / skills to do so?

Silicon said...

The Idea is good about using empty spaces, But the dependency on google/other publisher networks reduces the depth of the idea.

I wish the company good luck.. May be serving own ads will be the way to go in future..

Andrew said...

Spotted a spam comment for emptyspaceads on Bruce Schneier's blog:

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/07/north_korean_cy.html

Gayle said...

@Andrew Thanks. I was not aware of that, and I'm not sure what to say. I'm no longer with the company, but I'll look into this ASAP.