How we've attracted top talent to our early-stage bootstrapped startup

https://canny.io/blog/startup-attract-top-talent/

by a13n • 7 years ago

58 22 7 years ago

jarsin• 7 years ago

Top talent = working for a big four or unicorn = leetcode 24/7.

ctvo• 7 years ago

The social proof on IG being what several applicants stated as what drew them to the company is unfortunate. Now even more companies will feel the need to project zany and fun.

I'm just getting too old for this.

coupdejarnac• 7 years ago

I too am getting too old for this.. Whenever I see a company tout how fun it is to work there (ping pong tables, etc), my gut instinct is that engineers there are underpaid.

dclaysmith• 7 years ago

I'm a big fan of what Sarah & Andrew have done at Canny and how they have done it.

This article (humbly) omits the role that having a really great product plays in recruiting. Canny is well designed and built and delivers instant ROI. To a degree, job applicants can sense what working at a place will be like, based on the care the existing team puts into what they are building.

duxup4• 7 years ago

There's something about people's ability to attribute doing something to everything .... except what actually allowed for someone to do that thing ;)

spudlyo• 7 years ago

Something about this article doesn't sit right with me. Perhaps it's the self congratulatory tone, or maybe it's all the talk of brand building, "culture", or using social media to show off their company's "personality" -- but whatever it is I found it mildly nauseating. It's great they like their new hires, but how did they quantify that they're "top talent"?

I may be too old and jaded for this sort of thing.

whttheuuu• 7 years ago

lol, everyone thinks they are hiring "the best in the industry". When in reality, they are not.

noir_lord• 7 years ago

Indeed, the only way for everyone to hire the best would be if every single programmer in the world had exactly the same ability.

In a world with John Cormack, Anders Hejlsberg et al that seems... unlikely.

narcindin• 7 years ago

Makes me wonder who _actually_ is...

duxup4• 7 years ago

And really, how many people "need" "the best"?

mavelikara• 7 years ago

Joel Spolsky wrote about this in 2005: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2005/01/27/news-58/

creaghpatr• 7 years ago

They do each other's laundry??

duxup4• 7 years ago

This reads like some branding / self promotional thing rather than someone sharing something of value about hiring.

ummonk• 7 years ago

Self-congratulatory promotional posts are very common in the startup industry, but even then this seems unusually cringey. I can't put my finger on what exactly makes it worse. Maybe it is the Instagramy nature of their self-promotion.

duxup4• 7 years ago

The very first image is a very staged photo that seems like it is sort of supposed to seem like it is not staged.... and yet obviously is. The text really isn't about what the title implies. The whole thing feels fabricated to give a very specific vibe, and finishes up with "Come backstage, where we share an honest look into building Canny."

Nothing about it seems honest...

fucking_tragedy• 7 years ago

The post made me physically uncomfortable, and I can't immediately put my finger on exactly why, so you aren't alone.

huangc10• 7 years ago

I remember meeting the co-founders through Startup School back in 2017 and they were pretty genuine and enthusiastic about their product. I think they had just started development. I'm glad to hear Canny is doing well.

These types of articles are nice to read but maybe not for posting onto HN because it's a little fluffy and non-technical/non-quantitative as can be seen from the critical responses.

As a side note, I personally think it's difficult (but not impossible) to use social networks as a way to determine a company's culture. Everyone should be mindful that IG/Facebook captures only the moments someone wants to share.

deedubaya• 7 years ago

They're reading into this too much. Top talent likes

- Remote work

- Ability to contribute to "moving the needle"

- Profitable, which probably means decent pay

Sujan2• 7 years ago

With some beer in her system, she’s a master with words and the numbers that drive them.

What does that mean? Does she have to be drunk to be able to work?

elenveenpere• 7 years ago

Appreciate the comment! No, it means that after a few beers I'm a master with words and the numbers that drive them, without a few beers I'm also a master at everything else in life. Hope that answers your question!

Sujan2• 7 years ago

Hi there.

Honestly, not really. But maybe it just doesn't translate in my head, as "I'm a master with words and the numbers that drive them" alredy doesn't really make sense to me :shrug:

How we've attracted top talent to our early-stage bootstrapped startup

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