[earl]

First, I (we?) would be really interested in hearing what company. Please spill.

Second, I don't know what type of job you're looking for but the two startups that I've worked at both think very highly of startup experience on your resume, failed or not. If you pursued a startup idea it tends to indicate all sorts of good things -- self directed, can run with ideas, aren't averse to a certain amount of boring but necessary work, etc. Of course, you should expect to be grilled on why it failed and what you would do differently.

Third, Scribd always needs good rails people, so send your resume if you want. Email is in the profile.