blist will launch in beta at DEMO next week. We’ve been working hard on fixing bugs, stabilizing the application, getting our production system up and running, etc. What’s sometimes overwhelming is how many features we already have on the product backlog. The main inhibitor to adding these features is simply engineering bandwidth. We’ve been interviewing engineers lately, but none are stellar. It might seem like a reasonable idea to slightly lower our standards for now, just to crank through the backlog, but that would be a huge mistake. We have to keep the bar high.

As we come out of our stealth shell, launch at DEMO next week and host Lunch 2.0 next month, I think recruiting will become slightly easier. Even in the last month the quantity and quality of unsolicited, inbound inquiries has noticeably improved. I sent an outbound feeler to an engineer today and his response was “Yeah, I know who you are. I’d love to come talk with you.”

Little by little we’ll get there. It just may take us a little longer by keeping our standards high. If you’re an exceptional engineer, product manager or marketer, I encourage you to introduce yourself. I can be reached at kevin.merritt at blist.com.