About: localbacon.com solves fundamental problems for both job seekers and employers by flipping the traditional model upside down. On localbacon.com, job seekers receive benefits that no other job board provides including guaranteed feedback, handpicked standardized, full-time available opportunities, and real-time updates about their applications.

The Interview with Joe Essenfeld of localbacon (Start 53:09)

Jason picked a great guest today after listening to this show it is always amazing to see how resourceful some entrepreneurs are, for instance how Joe found his programmer.  Joe was listening to an earlier episode of TWiST and hears Jason Roberts call to ask a question on “Ask Jason” and thinks man this guy knows his stuff why not contact him.  It doesn’t stop their, Joe really thinks Jason will like his idea so he wins tickets from Jason for digiday:APPS show and waits for Jason to be free and pitched him in 30 seconds.  Jason left came back to him and said don’t launch wait for TechCrunch50 (TC50) I think you have something here.  Keep in mind this was in July most of the TC50 companies had been chosen but they still made it in and the rest is history.

The idea for localbacon came from Joe’s experience in hiring people, he wanted qualified applicants and to help quiet the noise as he puts he thinks localbacon solves these problems.  His belief in charging people to apply is that they will only apply to jobs they are serious about.  The benefit they receive is notification of when their application was viewed and will receive feedback from the employer regarding why they weren’t considered.  Localbacon offers two great features in my opinion besides the feedback.  One they filter out bogus jobs so you are only looking at quality jobs and two they help steer applicatants toward jobs that meet their skillset with the ultimate goal of getting someone hired.  Currently localbacon is focusing on jobs that pay $10/hr to $60k/year in the New York City area and their average applicant is 18-24 year olds.

When asked is a dollar an application enough to make money, Joe comments that it would make a good lifestyle business but he wants to scale the idea for real success.  Right now the plan is to mimic the Ladders approach by getting quality candidates which then allows them to charge more than Monster and Careerbuilders.

Now the good part, what was the TechCrunch50 process like?

• Rehearsal Number 1: Sequoia was a great setting, very inspirational, he had no idea how to pitch but prefers to work off the cuff, the night before is started jotting a couple things down that he wanted to say, when he finished he had no idea how he did, the most valuable part was the feedback and the video, he was rated a 6-7 on his first pitch when the average was a 4, side note you don’t see any other presentation at this time.
• Rehearsal number 2:  You get to see a couple other companies pitch their idea, he saw Cocodot and Stribe and was impressed but they were there to win.  They made a few changes between the 2^nd pitch and actual presentation, scored an 8.5 and Jason said he nailed it during TC50.
• Being on stage at TC50: Most nervous he has ever been, lights were bright, tried to make eye contact, it was hot, the entire time felt like a rollercoaster ride, he was glad he memorized the presentation so he wouldn’t screw thinks up.

Since TC50 he has met probably 20 Angel investors, this is his 3^rd time out to the west coast and  they are currently in fund raising mode.  They are beyond initial meeting  and enjoy having options and hope to close quickly.

Joe’s Presentation at TC50

Stop (1:14:30)

My Recommendation to localbacon: Your “About” page is lacking, this is one of the first pages I go to when I come across a new site.  I would add:

• You steer job seekers toward a job that fits their skill set
• You filter out bogus jobs
• Add what you offer the employers, a flexible easy to use platform they can customize and give easy feedback
• The first “X” job listings are free.
• I think you can definitely streamline this page, listen to your interview with Jason to get ideas.

I emailed Joe with a few follow up questions and here are his responses:

1. I wanted clarification on how many employees localbacon has, the team consists of Peter Margulies (Employer Relations), Jason Roberts (Lead Developer) and Joe.
2. Can you expand on how many jobs you filter out of the system? About 1 out of 8 jobs on traditional sites makes the localbacon standard of being a full time career opportunity between $10 /hr and $60k /yr that is actively hiring.
3. How do you guide people toward a job that suits their skill set? is this a manual task for someone?  As of today they can use our search to narrow down job categories, compensation and location.  Search results update dynamically and the experience is similar to filtering down your results on Kayak.
4. When do you expect to expand beyond New York? The west coast is our next stop and we plan on going live there in 3 – 6 months.
5. Is LocalBacon your full time job at the moment?  If so when did this happen in relation to TC50? I have been working full time on lb since the end of Feb. 2009.
6. Did you get your Angel round finished? We are in the middle of our seed round right now.  TC50 helped create tremendous interest and market timing around our concept continues to propel us forward.  We expect to close the round in November.

For those interested in Jason’s personal jihad against Keiretsu Forum the rant starts at 56:50

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