If you wanted to find talented people for your startup – where would you look?
In a time when big corporations are overpaying for their job offers just to steal the best talent from another big company, and in an era where everyone can build their own startup, there will always be room for people who prefer to join a team and work on something (in the future) big.
How would you find these promising talents?
I know that most often people go through:
Find a co-founder by YC
Or they match on the internet (Reddit)
I also liked the approach of one guy who started reaching out to graduates who had done their thesis on a given topic.
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CoSupport AI
In my experience, the best talents didn’t come from polished resumes or cold LinkedIn outreach, but through warm intros from friends at other early-stage startups
@enesterenko I think that it is like you said. Those who are the best do not have to introduce on their own – other people will discover or pitch their work.
Scade.pro
@enesterenko 100% agree. I've discussed this topic with a couple of CEOs and founders, and all of them said that they only hire talent through a close circle of acquaintances. I think in startups, it's very important to trust the team.
@enesterenko @nastassia_k It feels like you need to have only connections to be hired. 😬
There are quite a few options.
For example, recently a friend of mine asked me to post in the Build in Public community on X that he’s looking for a technical co-founder for a project. More than 15 people sent me direct messages, and there were some really good candidates.
Another way is at live entrepreneurship events. There are always people who want to become entrepreneurs.
I also think thematic groups on Reddit/LinkedIn are a good option, and I know people who have found partners this way.
@byalexai Did he pick someone up from the Twitter connections?
@busmark_w_nika yes
i connected them
and they agree to start building together
Europe based both of them
@byalexai That's quite a win! :) Great job Alex :)
I'd start by reaching out to my own network, people I've worked with in the past, I know how they work and I trust. Talent I've seen in action is always my first choice.
@borja_diazroig My network is pretty huge, so personally it is easier for me to find a new person (who pitches to me) rather than browsing a trillion contacts :D I mean, time-effective for me.
@borja_diazroig This is absolutely on point, did same thing not too long, reached out to people i have worked with to create something amazing
I have performed with the help of my project assistant through LinkedIn recruiter way back on February end till mid June, out of 5000+ profiles for finding niche developers for some projects in my own company, I’d DM those building projects, not just polishing resumes i.e., top talents who ship before they pitch by following creators teaching on X or YouTube, niche Discords, indie hacker forums, and open-source contributors on GitHub since only 50+ were true with what they exactly want and know how the things work and they have proper visibility on the platforms mentioned the first 5 platforms after taking thorough interviews . It took 3 months but it went with an eye opening search for candidates.
@ajay27324 It seems that now you will find talent on social media rather than on some job forums and sites for recruitment. What are the things you consider (e.g. according to CV), whether to move on with the candidate?
I go through the CV within 3 step interview duration mentioned by 1). genuine engagement with their field (Career history Q&A) , 2). how they handle criticism/feedback (From specific domain technical and fundamental questions on real time basis), 3). collaboration evidence (side projects, any personal project or product founder etc., if any) . And the reason for all of the above tests is to give the acceptance and responsibility to provide best service to clients projects on which the sales & marketing have investigated every lead to find the relevant to the goals of the venture.
@ajay27324 Ok, stop at point 2 – how can this be measured? How do you measure or reflect their feedback and decide whether you hire them or not?
@busmark_w_nika Thanks for asking thorough process among 3 tier as follows -
The 2nd step is majorly focused on how a candidate adapt, clarify, or reflect + the ability to pause, rethink, and refine the queries by providing solutions without ego to ascertain they're coachable, client-ready or some room for further clarifications for Do's and Don'ts, even with holding decade+ experience as creator or a gig with 5+ years of experience.
I have a network of global network of founders, Co-founders, CTOs, and creators in various domain-specific positions worked together within information technology industry, they join us in live interview (Q&A) and challenge the candidate with their earlier work or a scenario-based question with layered complexity.
API scaling would lead to latency under traffic spikes (a Backend development scenario)
The candidate showcases a revised solution using a queue-based system, showing reflection and agility rather than defensiveness at first saying the solution i presented is right, by sharing both scenarios as Case A (for AI integrated DevOps refinement) and Case B (for AI integrated backend resolutions),
Here, He has reframe his approach, showing best resolutions to query on domain specific of his own experience.
If a candidate ascertain above requirements or traits that no resume can capture, then i am good to go for further onboarding progress (a green flag for me..)
We used solvearn to find a developer for our breakup healing app (you can suggest equity based pay there)
Honestly, I’d start by looking within my close circle of friends. Even if they don’t have the most degrees, awards, or formal recognition, I know them for who they truly are, not just who they claim to be on paper. I’ve seen their skills, how they think, how they work, and whether they align with the values and needs of the project. That level of trust and personal insight can be more valuable than any resumé.
@luiisvaronaa For refferals, they are really good, but many of them are already on some projects (really good people are already taken). 🥲
To me, the best approach is to keep an open mind and not over-index on any one source. Exclusively using linkedin's job posting feature is as limiting as only taking warm referrals from friends. There are really excellent people looking for a new opportunity in all kinds of places.
@cholden_lewis I found LinkedIn useful, but lately spotted one company called "Confidential" that only scrapes/gathers data from applicants. I got it when I better analysed that naming "Confidential" :D
@busmark_w_nika LOL https://www.linkedin.com/company/confidential-career/ You weren't kidding!
@cholden_lewis It happened :D 2M followers, that means that many people were scammed :D
I think LinkedIn, why not?
@adventum it is still good platform, I just tried to widen my horrizons :)
@adventum I am active on Linkedin. So, many whom I hired reached me directly in Linkedin, synced up and got them onboarded. Referrals and job sites didnt help much
@adventum @rameshkumar_astravue That's a good point. I am kinda shy, but will try to face it and will do it in the next attempt to meet my opportunity :)
Twitter/X is a goldmine! So many modish builders and creatives are great active there.
@ismaila_adamu They are more solofounders, or don't they? 😅
Thesis, blog, side project — those show who’s serious. That’s who I reach out to.
I always learn from your thread
@mirabellemorah Thank you! That's kind of you. 😇 I keep posting.
Velocity
@kevin_mcdonagh1 If you know about any good meetups (or conferences), feel free to share, I would like to attend them more.
@busmark_w_nika I'd recommend Colorado Startup Week (formerly Denver Startup Week). It is volunteer run and completely free. Most of the 12k attendees last year were local but there were plenty of people from across the US and probably a couple hundred international attendees too. If you're interested in or working on AI, take a look at DenAI Summit as well. It was a new conference last year and drew 1k attendees. Both take place in mid to late September.
@william_zeidler Hopefully, once will get to the US to attend one of these. 🤞
Contra
biased but I would hire on Contra!
@communitymadi I think that I had a profile there just for searching for opportunities, but many were only for the US.
Love this question, Nika.
In a world full of noise, finding truly passionate talent takes creativity. I believe beyond LinkedIn and YC, some of the best gems are hidden in online communities (Discord, indie hacker groups, niche forums) where people are building before they’re hired.
Also love the thesis approach. Shows real interest and deep work. Sometimes, the best talent isn’t looking they’re already doing. You just have to spot them early.
@sania_khan10 TBH, X and Discord feel kinda informal, but icebreaking is better there for startup founders. More serious companies like corporations are going for LinkedIn or job platforms.
@busmark_w_nika Do you think LinkedIn doesn’t work like it used to?
Is LinkedIn dead now? If i see then why on linkedIn talented people are ignored? I have seen that those who have more followers people stay more longer on their profiles algorithm pushes them.
@sania_khan10 I think that LinkedIn is still alive (maybe more than ever), they are just trying to experiment with the different formats that are more aimed at younger generations, which makes them a little bit infantile compared to their past positioning.
@busmark_w_nika I agree LinkedIn is definitely alive and evolving. I think the platform is just trying to balance its professional roots with new formats to keep younger audiences engaged. The challenge is making sure it stays professional while still being creative.
Recommendations from acquaintances are a reliable method, as the core members of my team are all gathered that way. Resumes often tend to be over-optimized when searching through job boards, making it difficult for recruiters to distinguish genuine from fake.
@mcclureval29752 True, I also got more opportunities thanks to testimonials/referral rather than from CVs.