The Golden Age vs. Now

Back in the early 2010s, breaking into the tech industry felt different—simpler, even. Platforms like LeetCode were relatively new, featuring a small collection of problems. Solving foundational questions like Two Sum often paved the way to interviews at top firms like Google. The landscape seemed open to anyone with the ambition to learn and the drive to succeed. Even bootcamp graduates with non-technical backgrounds were landing roles at prestigious companies. For many aspiring engineers, it was the Golden Age.

Fast forward to 2024, and the story has changed. The tech industry is saturated with talent, with computer science graduates entering the workforce in record numbers. Layoffs, economic uncertainty, and evolving hiring practices have raised the bar higher than ever. Companies increasingly rely on automated online assessments that, despite their efficiency, often reject candidates without explanation—even those who achieve perfect scores. The process has grown impersonal and discouraging, leaving many job seekers disillusioned.

Don’t Hate the Player; Hate the Game

As recent graduates navigating this reality, we experienced these challenges firsthand. Desperate to succeed, we turned to every resource we could find. Forums like 1point3acres became lifelines, offering shared experiences and valuable insights. One moment epitomized this realization. During an interview, I was given a question I had studied just the night before on 1point3acres. I knew the answer instantly—so well that I could have recited it in my sleep. But instead, I pretended to work through it, acting as though I was solving it for the first time. When I advanced to the next round, I should have felt proud, but instead, I felt uneasy.

I couldn’t help but ask myself: Was this fair? Was I gaming the system, or was I simply doing what the system encouraged me to do? The lines felt blurred. I knew I wasn’t alone—every candidate was just trying to adapt to a process that often felt arbitrary and impersonal. The real problem wasn’t with me or with others navigating these challenges. It was with the system itself. As the saying goes,

"don’t hate the player, hate the game."

The Birth of InterviewDB

That night, InterviewDB was born. We didn’t have a detailed plan or significant resources, just late-night brainstorming sessions and a determination to organize the fragmented information scattered across the internet. We started small, sketching ideas on paper, coding in tiny apartments, and building the resource we wished we had during our own struggles.

Our mission was simple: to create a better version of LeetCode tagged. LeetCode has long been the standard for technical interview preparation, and many of us began our preparation journey there. Its company-tagged questions have been a helpful resource for years, but it has its limitations. Many companies are already moving away from traditional LeetCode style problems. In addition, many users have reported inaccuracies and misaligned updates, leading to confusion and wasted time. With InterviewDB, we aim to provide a more accurate and targeted resource for preparing for specific companies. It wasn't easy. We faced challenges, doubts, and setbacks, but we also learned some important lessons:

1. Empathy Drives Innovation: We’ve been in your shoes. The rejection emails, the anxiety before interviews—we understand, and that perspective informs every feature we design.
2. Quality Over Quantity: Instead of overwhelming users with thousands of questions, we focus on providing curated, high-value content that makes a real difference.
3. The Power of Community: Contribution from our users has been instrumental in helping us maintaining a high quality question database.

A New Chapter in 2025

As we enter 2025, we’re proud of what we’ve built so far. Our Discord community has become a supportive space for job seekers, and our question database now spans over 50 companies—with more to come. Looking ahead, we’re expanding our reach to cover more roles and industries and introducing new tools to make preparation even more intuitive.

Starting InterviewDB was a challenging but deeply rewarding journey. What began as a response to our own frustrations has grown into something far greater. To anyone feeling overwhelmed by the interview process: we’ve been there, and we built this for you. With the right tools, determination, and support, you can navigate the system and succeed. Together, we’re changing the way interviews are prepared for—one question at a time.