Monster.com: Web Marketing Manager, GreaterGood.com, Matthew Carr (Q&A)

Matthew Carr, 29, has been working at Seattle-based GreaterGood.com since last year, having started while he was working on his MBA at the University of Washington. He estimates that he was the company's 15th employee; there are now about 100 full-timers. GreaterGood.com donates part of the proceeds from visitors' purchases to the charity of their choice.

Monster.com: How did you find this opportunity?

Matthew Carr:I came across the opening on the Web. I didn't have any contacts at the company; it was just a blind inquiry that turned out well! Interestingly enough, once I started I realized I knew quite a few people who also worked there. Seattle can be a very small town.

Mc:Why do you think they hired you? You got on board quite early, so obviously every hire was crucial at that point.

MC: I think startup companies place as much, if not more, emphasis on enthusiasm and strong work ethic as they do on specific skills. Having an MBA was also a bonus.

Mc: What does it mean to be a Web marketing manager? Do you feel like you're using what you learned at business school?

MC: I'm basically a product marketing manager, which means that I focus on our Web site properties: What should be our strategy for building out new sites? What type of functionality and content should they include? What are our competitors doing that we need to emulate? I am responsible for executing the ideas once we decide on a direction. I work with our development team to implement our ideas, and I share the responsibility with another coworker.

I am applying a lot of what I learned in business school, but I'm mostly using my analytical skills. They are very important in planning our financial and business strategy, as well as in managing projects.

Mc: Do you need a strong technical background to make decisions about the functionality and content?

MC: It's pretty important to have a good grasp of the technology that your company uses to drive its products. We use Web Objects (an Apple product) as our application, so I need to understand how dynamically driven development works. A less tech savvy person could do it, but it would take him a lot longer to catch on.

Mc:Tell me about the culture at GreaterGood.com.

Mc: The average age is probably around 30. We have a lot of seasoned business professionals as well as recent graduates. It's a great match because everyone can learn from each other. The more experienced employees contribute their wisdom and knowledge, while the younger staff members have an infectious enthusiasm. Also, everyone brings a different experience to the company. We have many people from both the high tech industry and traditional business.

Mc: What suggestions would you have for people trying to break into Internet companies?

MC: It�s definitely harder than it was a few years ago. It�s not enough to just know a little HTML anymore. I think there are basically three ways of breaking in:

1. Get an MBA or computer-related degree. Obviously that means putting your career on hold for a little while, so it�s not an option for everyone.

2. Look for a job with a startup. They�re usually more willing to take a chance on someone with a bit less experience, but expect to work long hours.

3.Work in the customer service department of a company. It's a good way to break into an organization, because you become intimately familiar with your product. We�ve had people here that started in customer service and have moved on to do other things within the company.

Mc: One of the things I�ve noticed about working at dotcoms is that things never seem to normalize.

MC: Absolutely. That�s one of the major differences between Internet and software development companies. Creating software products is a slow and often regimented process. You are more focused on real time when working on the Web. There's a bit of making it up as you go along.