Simply put, we are one of the fastest moving, fastest growing sites in person-to-person ecommerce. Launched in late 2008, Bonanza has exploded to more than 70,000 buyers visiting per day, a quarter million registered users, and three million items for sale.
This growth has been driven exclusively through word-of-mouth referrals, good press, and organic search relevance. To succeed with this approach has required Bonanza to be laser-focused on building a product that meets the needs of its customers.
Our ultimate vision is to build the best shopping experience for non-commodity items by creating a niche-centric marketplace emphasizing interaction between people. We believe that powerful magic happens when you give users the power to engage with like-minded folks about what makes them passionate.
“Free your mind, and the rest will follow.”
-- En Vogue, 1992
Our core belief is that if you give talented people the chance to do what they do best every day, the work is absorbing and the results are dramatic. To facilitate this, we make it our priority to build Bonanza out of self-driven overachievers, and then create an environment where each person can kick the most butt possible.
In practice, this means that, if you work at Bonanza, you’ll get the best possible hardware and software to do your job; we’ll ensure that you always know what your high-level goals are; and we’ll make it a point to share the glory of your triumphs with you -- often through use of beer, video games, and devices of like nature. Because we believe that hard work warrants hard play.
From a community standpoint, we believe that Bonanza’s meteoric growth derives from a culture where the benefit of the doubt is standard issue. This is a cornerstone of how we treat our community, and how we treat each other. Tangibly speaking, this means that if we can’t figure out what someone is talking about, our first step is to earnestly attempt to get clarification so we can understand what we might have missed. If it still doesn’t make any sense, only then shall we entertain the possibility that the communicator may be a clueless dingbat.
Bad news: Despite the proliferation of cloud computing and free, industrial strength web platforms like Ruby on Rails, 19 of every 20 consumer websites are functionally dead within a couple of years. Most of what spurred these websites were good ideas -- many so good that they result in millions in speculative investment -- but when it comes time to translate that good idea into eyeballs and profit, reality spoils the party.
Good news: For the few sites lucky enough to circumnavigate their way through that initial maze of failures, they can arrive at a point where their scale suddenly unlocks a wealth of otherwise impossible opportunities.
With our current volume of inventory, users, and daily visitors, Bonanza has arrived at a pivotal moment in our growth. We combine the creative energy and quickness of a small startup with the user adoption level of a site that is regularly mentioned alongside giants of ecommerce who have been building 10 years longer than us.
With a team that blends passion, talent, and consistent hard work, our plan for the future can accelerate growth beyond its already high levels in the years to come. And, crucially, we can do this without changing the customer-first, niche-centric reputation we have forged to get ourselves here.
Are you motivated to work as part of a team that has no “weak links?” We currently have the following openings.
Over the last two years, Bonanza (formerly Bonanzle) has been amongst the fastest growing marketplaces in all of ecommerce.
Since launching in late 2008, we have grown to well over 2 million monthly visitors and more than 3.5 million items posted for sale. We won the 2010 Seattle 2.0 award for 'Best Boot strapped Startup' and raised a 1mm round of angel financing to fund our growth. In January of 2011 Bonanza was named a finalist for 'Consumer Product of the Year' by the Washington Technology Industry Association. We are looking to continue our growth by adding all-star talent to our small team. As one of Bonanza's Ruby on Rails developers, you will work with the team to craft a code base that is modular and able to evolve quickly. You'll see the fruits of your labor go live fast and earn the appreciation of our incredible community of merchants.
We have a great office location in the Pike/Pine corridor on Capitol Hill. We're minutes from Broadway and downtown Seattle. We dig it here and think you will too.
To apply to any of the above jobs, please email jobs -at- bonanza.com. Specify in the title the position you are applying for, and include a one page cover letter, plus your resume. We look forward to hearing from you!
