I have started a startup and don't have any experience in startups and putting in my own money, $250,000. How do I find the right technical people?

Try linkedin.

Startup recruiting is really a full-contact sport that must be played to win by the Founder(s) of the Company. If you want to hire the best possible talent, you must be as focused on this task as you are a fundraising round (in other words, completely focused on it until it's DONE). Great technical talent often has aversions to LinkedIn because of the sheer amount of inbound requests they get from recruiters. So although you shouldn't rely on it alone for making contact, it is still the best resource in finding potential talent. They give you such limited space to make your case in the introduction request so get the most compelling points about you, your company and why they should join you in the shortest possible amount of text and end with a call to action (Can I buy you lunch / coffee whatever). Technical talent are far more likely to have multiple online presences so there's a better chance you can find their personal email address than recruiting other talent. Be upfront as to your company's stage. If you have funding, make it clear that the position isn't subject to funding. If you are recruiting a cofounder, that should be made clear. In that case, focus especially on what makes you credible and attractive to partner with. Happy to share more with you in a call about what I've learned in the process of hiring great talent.

Yes to both. Because it is a lucrative business, there is a lot of competition. There are very few barriers to entry in the staffing/recruiting space (cash flow being one if you are focused on contract placements as you'll need free cash to support payroll). You need to be prepared to stick it out for the long term. Time is your friend here, because most recruiters and sales reps (those building and cultivating relationships with clients) come and go. The relationships you can scrape together in your first year will serve you well if you are still in business in years 2, 3 and beyond - because you'll still be around, where many of your competitors will have moved on (not necessarily the agencies they worked for, but as owners of the relationship, they take that asset with them when they leave). Good to hear you are focused on technical staffing - stay in your lane, figure out what the core in-demand skills are in your market (likely software engineering like everywhere else), and focus on direct hire placement initially to get some early traction and cash in the bank. Then, when the time is right, hire a business development/sales professional and get them out in the field meeting with hiring managers from growing companies in your market. Track their activity and incentivize them to generate contract business, so you can start building up a book of business. Good luck!

If you're not technical yourself, then you might not be able to gauge the efficiency of a candidate's algorithms or critique her code. But there are still some higher-level, more behavioral things that a non-technical interviewer should be looking for in a strong development candidate: 1. What are some tech blogs that you follow? Explain an interesting article to me that you read from one of them. The software development world changes all the time. Best practices are constantly evolving and new libraries are regularly released which make developers more productive. If a candidate doesn't keep up with the latest software news, that might be a red flag that they're not curious or trying to improve themselves. Also, having them explain a technical concept to someone who's non-technical is a great way to gauge their communication skills. Do they seem like someone you could work with and understand easily? Do they care about pausing to make sure you understand, or do they just drone on with jargon? If you feel overwhelmed while they're explaining this answer, imagine how you'll feel when they're telling you why the product has bugs or isn't going to be done on schedule. 2. Tell me about a time you ran into a big roadblock with something you were building. How did you get past it? It's inevitable that a software developer will get tripped up or have to solve some Gordian Knot. Everyone has to bang their head against the wall from time to time. Maybe an API didn't have the data they needed or some function was running too slow and they weren't sure how to speed it up. You're looking to see how they are as a problem solver. Did they come up with a clever but hacky solution? Were they methodical or did they fly by the seat of their pants? Did they go back to the stakeholders and see if the feature's requirements were flexible? Did they work on it for hours and hours trying new things? Did they ask for help from colleagues or on the internet? No right or wrong answers here, but you want to get the sense that this isn't someone who throws up their hands when they hit some friction. 3. Tell me about your favorite project that you worked on. What work are you most proud of? By asking them about the project they're most proud of, you'll get to see what it is that they value most. Maybe one candidate is most proud of a side project they built, even if it wasn't that technically complex, while another candidate is proud of their esoteric PhD project or some specific algorithm they improved. Again, no right or wrong answers, it really depends what type of candidate you're looking for. But it lets you see into their mind a bit, and get at some of the aspects that can make someone a strong development candidate. If you want to talk more specifically about hiring for your team, I'd be happy to do a call!

since most get paid upon a candidates permanent offer most of the hastle comes from finding the right person. knowing how t filter helps a recruiter incrementally over time leading to repeat customers. feel free to call one of us to help you get going or guiding you through hurdles. :)