San Francisco Entrepreneur Says, Gaining Experience Early Is Key
The professional and business services sector in San Francisco has had 55 consecutive months of a year-over increase. That's according to the latest information from the California Employment Development Department. As San Francisco and Silicon Valley continues to lead the nation for the highest average salary for tech jobs, San Francisco students are contending against job seekers from across the country and all over the world. One successful San Francisco-based entrepreneur who offered a word of advice for local job seekers is Darin Alpert, co-founder of Find Me Gluten Free, with over two million users and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban as an investor.
What is your background and education?
"Prior to starting my career, I graduated from The University of the Pacific (UOP) with a B.A. in Sports Management. Throughout my career, I've always been interested in technology and sales and originally wanted to be a sports agent. I transitioned into marketing technology in 2010. I've been involved either as an employee, consultant, founder or investor in over 15 technology companies."
What is Find Me Gluten Free?
"I am one of the co-founders of a website/app that helps people find gluten-free restaurants and food brands. We brought Mark Cuban on as an investor, grew the company to 2,000,000 users and profitably got acquired in July 2013. We were a two person team that handled everything from creating the technology to selling the advertising. It was a wonderful experience that I wouldn't trade for the world."
What career advice can you share to technology majors?
"Get as much experience as you can while you're in college. This could be interning, creating your own website or app or helping with an early stage start-up. I would also say, work with a few different companies to figure out what you like and don't like before you have serious bills to pay when you graduate."
Randy Yagi is a freelance writer covering all things San Francisco. In 2012, he was awarded a Media Fellowship from Stanford University. His work can be found on Examiner.com Examiner.com.
