Eduardo Ramirez is a UTSA alumnus, with a communication degree who began working for a startup company called Whiskr—a travel website that helps people find affordable airfare deals.
“I stumbled upon (Whiskr). I found it. I was looking for a job after graduation. I didn’t know what I was going to do and there was an opening for a startup. It was for a travel website. I love to travel, so I thought it will be a good fit for me. I came in for an interview and I got hired in like three days,” said Ramirez.
Although working for a startup wasn’t his dream job, according to Ramirez, it gave him a different perspective of what prospects are available in San Antonio.
Whiskr has also allowed Ramirez to put his communication degree to use. He is a PR and Marketing Specialist for Whiskr. He is also learning how to write codes for the website and organizing events such as the first annual San Antonio Texas Made (SATX MADE), which was a mini-expo for San Antonio startups.
“Joining a startup company would interest me because I believe it offers more professional and personal growth,” Fernie Ferniza, a UTSA alumnae seeking employment, said, “you get a sense of being more responsible and seeing a company succeed from the bottom is quite impressive, knowing that you were a part of it from the beginning.”
According to Ramirez, there are benefits to working for a startup: students get hands on experience, work directly with innovators and founders of companies, and they get to work on a small team, which means they get more responsibilities.
“What turns me off about startups is you can’t expect to be making the big bucks,” Ferniza countered, “you gotta work for it, and I would also assume that your window for error is minimal. You must be able to identify the difference risks of every decision being made.”
There are many startup companies for students to choose from in San Antonio. On angel.co, a website for people to apply for startup jobs, there are 341 startup companies (this number only reflects the companies registered on angel.co) in San Antonio. Also, according to Kauffman Index of startup activity of San Antonio and New Braunfels in 2016, the rate of new entrepreneurs is 0.28 percent, opportunity share of new entrepreneurs is 87.33 percent, and startup density is 84.6 percent.
Working for Whiskr as a PR and Marketing Specialist is a job Ramirez said he loves.
“I enjoy the atmosphere at work, the friendliness, collaboration, sharing of ideas, the ability to be creative, and the value of hard work and ownership that has been instilled in everyone at his workplace.” Ramirez concluded.
