Startups and Hiring
Posted by Dev Acct
As I sat contemplating a new post I couldn’t help but be influenced by my past dealings with hiring, or lack thereof, and how finding people can truly shape an organization in its infancy. Startup Weekend brings together some very diverse groups of people at each weekend that is hosted and the communities built as a result make great networks for hiring and finding partners for new ventures. Having a network within your own city of 100-200 people (and the people they know) is extremely beneficial and rewarding.
However, Startup Weekend communities aside, finding talented people to hire, especially in a short period of time, is often rather difficult and solely dependent on your personal and professional network. For those that are connected enough and know a guy who knows a guy, hiring may not be as big a hurdle as it for those that are less ingrained in that circle of people and thus a discussion (in the comments) about seeking out talent would be interesting.
Personally I’ve dealt with trying to hire developers for various projects and have found it very difficult, especially when the project is still in covert-op mode. In several instances I would start with my personal/professional network, then the people that they knew and their friends, and if that all failed I moved on to Craigslist, elance, etc. for possible leads. By the time I hit Craigslist I was fairly certain I would not find the person I was looking for and in fact, I did not. We managed to throw together what needed to be done with the original team. This certainly has to do with my location (see the previous post) but I thought it would be good to hear some strategies for hiring. This is also most likely my most choppy post but hiring seems to be that way as well so I’ll do better on the next one!
2 Responses to “Startups and Hiring”
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David Sandusky said:
People are the cause and solution to all startups little problems. As a former executive recruiter (still am kinda), and a long time entrepreneur / entrepreneur supporter, I know first hand that the people matter most…period.
Networks are important for sure - a known commodity is a good thing. But often startups have to go outside for a host of reasons for the right talent. And that is where the fun begins!
June 9th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
clayton said:
Yea I totally agree, without the right people the venture will never succeed no matter how awesome the idea is. I guess the hard part is being able to search outside of your normal avenues for hiring.
June 10th, 2008 at 8:30 am