NotchUp's Annoying Opening Act

Jim Ambras tried to keep his expectations reasonable. Ambras, a veteran of Web companies including search engine AltaVista, was preparing to unveil a company called NotchUp at the DEMO conference in Palm Desert, Calif. His goal was to have 1,000 people signed up in time for his Jan. 29 presentation at the annual showcase for new products and services. NotchUp takes a novel approach to online job search, matching potential employees who are willing to be paid for a job interview with companies willing to pay.

A week before taking the DEMO stage, NotchUp had attracted a meager 200 users. Pressure to add to those ranks was high in the runup to DEMO, the storied launchpad of such tech legends as the original PalmPilot (PALM) and Salesforce.com (CRM). It didn't help that the company was only just emerging from so-called stealth mode, the phase when startups try to stay off the radar screen of potential copycats. The site is password protected, and the only way to join NotchUp was to get invited by a member. "Our goal was obviously too high," Ambras says.