Talent Attraction Techniques

The best founders do one thing brilliantly... Hire. Here’s how we think about finding & attracting A-players for our portfolio companies: Most owners hire like they're running a restaurant. They think more cooks = faster service. Instead, they get a kitchen full of people bumping into each other, burning food, and blaming everyone else. That’s why hiring isn’t a numbers game. You don't need more people. You need the RIGHT people. It’s impossible to build a worthwhile business with mediocre talent. Over the years, we've developed a framework to find, attract, and close the top 0.001%. I call it the 4 C's to Top-Level Talent: 1. CURATE Start hiring before you start hiring. Follow smart people in your niche on Twitter. Connect on LinkedIn. Bookmark stuff that makes you say, "Damn, I wish I wrote that." Treat talent like a portfolio. Study first, invest later. The best hires happen when you're NOT desperately hiring. 1. CULTIVATE Engage without being weird. Compliment their stuff. Comment. Ask smart questions. Send them ideas. The best talent moves when THEY'RE ready, not when you need them. Plant seeds early. Water them consistently. 3. CLOSE When it's time to close the sale, go HARD. Fly them in. Meet their spouse. Pay more than you're comfortable with. I wasn't even looking for a company President when I met Marc. I wanted a CRO. But after one conversation, I knew he was our guy. So I changed the org to fit HIM. That's how good hires work. They change you. Don't squeeze top talent into your current structure. Bend your business around exceptional people. 4. CONTINUE Top performers won't always stay forever. That's okay. Even when they leave, keep them close. My old Head of Content now runs a 7-figure business. We still trade notes. They send better talent than any recruiter ever could. As someone who’s hired 100s of people, take it from me: Your best hires won't walk in the door with a resume in hand. They're already working somewhere else, crushing it. It’s your job to go find them. Hiring the right people is one of the most powerful growth levers for any business. If you want to see exactly how we attract and retain top-tier talent across our portfolio, I’ll be breaking it all down in an upcoming workshop (tomorrow). This is just one of several proven scaling strategies we’ll cover— more info here: https://lnkd.in/emd63SuT

Sales folks, take note! Spamming a target company's employees with your services and requests for meetings will result in your company making its way onto a buyer's blocklist. As a buyer in the localization industry, I receive dozens of emails and LinkedIn requests every single day from vendors looking to showcase translation, AI, QA services, and more. It's not humanly possible to give personal replies to every outreach. When vendors can't get through to me, they often reach out to everyone on my team... and sometimes to many others across my company. I'd love for this practice to stop. It wastes valuable company time and makes a vendor appear desperate and non-strategic. Here's what to do instead: 1. Appeal to ego! Invite a target company’s decision-maker to a panel, or start a vlog series and ask buyers to appear and discuss industry topics. It’s also a great opportunity to reposition your company as a thought leader. 2. Offer genuine insight, not just services. Share a case study, white paper, or benchmarking data that’s actually useful to the buyer’s role, and do it without a sales pitch. 3. Build a reputation before you build a pipeline. Comment thoughtfully on posts. Contribute to community conversations. If you consistently show up with value, you’re far more likely to get noticed. 4. Target smarter, not broader. Don’t shotgun your message to an entire company. Learn the org. Understand the buyer’s scope. Then send one well-researched, personalized note that shows you actually did your homework. 5. Focus on mutual value. Can you help solve a known pain point or offer perspective on something changing in the market? Frame your outreach around collaboration, not consumption. 6. Use timing to your advantage. Keep tabs on when companies are hiring for roles associated with your offerings, launching in new markets, or attending conferences. That’s when buyers are more receptive to new solutions. 7. Lead with generosity. Offer a no-strings-attached resource, intro, or suggestion that doesn’t benefit you directly. Reciprocity is a powerful trust builder. And please! Don't ever ever call me on the phone! ;)

4 elite talent attracting strategies for startups: (without relying on bigger salaries) Startups can’t match large, profitable companies’ talent offers. So, what do you do? You excel where they’re weak. Here’s 4 strategies for startups to compete with the big boys (without just throwing more salary at the problem): 1. Don't win at pay. Win at pay practices. Transparency is a low bar but still rare, especially among large orgs scared to implement. Younger, startup-oriented talent increasingly values clarity over ambiguity. Share your salary bands, be upfront about pay progression, and make equity meaningful. 2. Double down on mission Why does your company exist? People want to solve meaningful problems and have a meaningful impact on your mission. Whatever your company is tackling, make it central to your pitch. Driven talent will follow. 3. Highlight development opportunities Startups are boot camps for growth. They’re fast-paced, challenging, and expose employees to a variety of experiences. Frame this as a selling point for ambitious learners looking to level up quickly. 4. Focus on Ownership Make employees feel like true owners. Equity can be powerful, but only if it’s worth something. Communicate its value clearly and tie it to the company’s success. Big companies can offer comfort. But startups offer something unique: • Purpose • Growth • A chance to create something extraordinary Don’t throw more money at it. In 5 words or less, what advice would you give a startup to attract top talent?

After 7 years of navigating sales and leading teams in price-sensitive markets across Southeast Asia, I've broken down my experience into these 10 lessons: 1. Leverage real-world examples: When addressing prospects' questions, anchor your responses in actual experiences with other clients. This illustrates social proof without sounding boastful. 2. Showcase intimate understanding: While discussing your product, be tactical, not theoretical; see #1. Display an in-depth understanding of the problem and the client's workflow. 3. Demonstrate first, ask second: Highlight the efficacy of your solution without pushing clients into an immediate commitment. Consider giving consultations, hosting workshops, delivering event talks, or writing articles. 4. Engage, don't oversell on LinkedIn: Stay active on LinkedIn, but refrain from frequent direct selling. Instead, genuinely engage with prospects' content and assist them. Ideally, they shall approach you first. 5. Outbound sales done right: If reaching out, ensure you a) contact 3 to 4 individuals within target organizations, b) A/B test email content and subjects, and c) follow up 3 to 4 times. Rinse and repeat. 6. Emphasize social proof: Populate your digital channels with client testimonials. Create a prominent “Wall of Love” on your website to host all testimonials and case studies, then distribute these across emails, ads, website, social media, blogs, and onboarding materials. 7. Build a lot of social proof: Consider the following to gather more testimonials: a) Offer to draft them for your client, b) Provide services at a reduced/no cost initially, and c) Incentivize the sales team not just for closing deals but also for acquiring testimonials/case studies. 8. Experience on the ground matters: Invest time in your target markets. Begin pitches by sharing personal anecdotes and what you cherish about that particular country. 9. Optimize commission structures: Continually refine your commission structures. Experiment until you find the sweet spot where the team is incentivized optimally for maximum output. 10. Streamline your deck: All supplementary slides should be in an appendix, displayed only if required. The deck structure I like follows this: a) introduce you and your company b) the as-is state c) why existing solutions are not effective d) requirements for the new world e) your solution f) demo g) social proof h) next steps What have I missed?

“We’ll hire when we need someone.” 🤦🏻♀️ I'm sorry, that’s not a Talent Acquisition strategy. That’s a reaction. And reacting too late is one of the most expensive mistakes a business can make. If you want to grow sustainably, hire top talent and stay competitive, you need a Talent Acquisition strategy that’s not just a hiring plan, but a business lever. So, what does that actually include? Here are 5 core pillars every company should consider: 1️⃣ Workforce planning: → What roles will you need in 6–12–18 months? → Where are the skill gaps? → How do your hiring needs align with business growth? 2️⃣ Employer Branding and Candidate Experience (CX): → Do the right people know who you are and why they should work for you? → What do candidates say about their experience with you, especially the rejected ones? 3️⃣ Sourcing Strategy: → Are you relying only on inbound? → Do you know where your ideal candidates actually are and how to reach them? 4️⃣ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: → Are your job descriptions, processes and interview panels inclusive? → Are you building teams with different perspectives and backgrounds? 5️⃣ Recruiting Infrastructure & Data: → Do you measure time-to-hire, conversion rates or quality of hire? → Is your TA team set up with the right tools, training and headcount to support growth? Because here’s the thing: If you don’t invest in TA strategy early, you'll eventually struggle with: 🚨 Delayed product launches 🚨 Burned out teams 🚨 Rising attrition 🚨 Missed revenue targets 🚨 Damaged reputation in the market Talent Acquisition is not a support function. It’s not just about posting jobs and scheduling interviews. It's a strategic function that belongs at the same table as product, finance, and operations. Because without the right people, none of those other strategies can succeed.

After building TestGorilla from 0 to thousands of customers across 100+ countries, I've learned that most companies fail at hiring before they even post a job. Here are the 5 steps that separate world-class hiring from expensive mistakes: 1) Define your talent requirements (most skip this) "We need a great developer" isn't a hiring strategy - it's wishful thinking. Great companies get surgical about exactly who they're looking for: • Specific technical competencies (not just "knows Python") • Required experience levels for each skill • Cultural attributes that predict success in YOUR environment • Growth trajectory you need (steady performer vs. high-potential) Vague requirements = mediocre hires. Every time. 2) Identify their decision drivers (this is where magic happens) You're not just competing on salary. Top talent has options. Ask yourself: • What frustrates high performers in their current roles? • What career aspirations keep them up at night? • What would make them leave a "safe" job for yours? • What do they value more than money? When you understand their psychology, you can craft offers that speak to their souls, not just their bank accounts. 3) Design your evaluation framework (objectivity beats gut instinct) Most hiring decisions are made in the first 10 seconds of an interview. That's not evaluation - that's bias confirmation. Build systems that predict actual performance: • Skills-based assessments that mirror real work • Structured interviews with consistent scoring • Objective measures of potential and values fit • Efficient processes that respect everyone's time Data beats "good vibes" every single time. 4) Establish your selection criteria (know your non-negotiables) What actually distinguishes your top performers from average ones? And here's the harder question: Why should A-players choose your process over companies with bigger brands and deeper pockets? Your hiring process IS your product. Make it remarkable: • Faster time-to-decision than competitors • More meaningful evaluation than "tell me about yourself" • Clearer communication throughout • Genuine respect for candidates' time and expertise 5) Communicate your hiring philosophy (story beats specs) Stop posting job descriptions that read like legal documents. Start telling stories: • Why does this role exist? • What impact will this person have? • What's the vision they'll help build? • What's your approach to finding and developing talent? People don't join companies. They join missions. TAKEAWAY: Most companies treat hiring like procurement - find the cheapest resource that meets basic requirements. World-class companies treat hiring like product development - deeply understand your users (candidates), design remarkable experiences, and iterate based on data. The companies that master this don't just fill roles faster. They build competitive advantages one hire at a time.

We all want to hire the best people - but a mistake so many founders make is ignoring step 1: Build a talent magnet 🧲 Psychometric testing, blind referencing, task-based assignments and culture-fit interviews - all great tools for selecting talent... But if your top of funnel is only 50 candidates per role - you're better off investing time in building the top of funnel rather than selection. At my first company we built a talent magnet that attracted 2,000 candidates per role (pre AI applications). Here are the core steps to building top of funnel in hiring: 1. Define your culture - ensure it is authentic and 'controversial' 2. Craft your employer brand - the reasons people enjoy working at your company (beyond your culture) - eg at sequel those might be working with the world's best athletes on a daily basis, funding pioneering founders, a 'dope' office with a roof terrace & plenty of socialising space, an experienced team with multiple exits 3. Pick your benefits carefully - you are what you attract - at sequel we offer a learning budget, free gym membership, private healthcare, a generous parental policy and proactive wellness screenings - therefore we have healthy team members with a hunger to learn and who want to have families one day 4. Talk about the above publicly - post on LinkedIn, attend events, talk to the press, apply for awards 5. Craft job descriptions optimising for top-of-funnel - remove barriers like requirements for certain levels of education, include wide salary ranges (and pick the range carefully), offer equity if you can, link to other resources to help people learn about your brand (eg we have a team video on our website) 6. Use an ATS & post widely to job boards - we use Workable and post to 20+ job boards for every role 7. Host events - hackathons are a great way to build relationships with engineering and product talent and spend extended period of time seeing how they work 8. Outbound - do not just rely on inbound - create an ideal candidate profile with a detailed dream job history - and start pro-actively reaching out to people who fit the profile Focus on attraction before you invest time in selection. It's a bit like dating... Any other tips for building a magnet for talent?

How do I find people who actually want what I offer? This is one of the most common questions I hear from early-stage founders. So here’s a simple breakdown to help you find prospects  that match your Ideal Customer Persona （ICP）: 🔹 1. Define them clearly , beyond demographics. Don’t just stop at “female, 30-40, entrepreneur.” Go deeper: – What problems are they googling at 2 AM? – What platforms do they hang out on? – What triggers them to finally take action? 🔹 2. Hang out where they hang out. Are they venting in Facebook Groups? Liking competitor posts on LinkedIn? Asking questions on Reddit or Quora? Your prospects are already talking—you just have to listen. 🔹 3. Look at your first 5 best users. If you already have a few happy users or clients, reverse-engineer them. – Where did they come from? – What did they ask before signing up? – Why did they choose you over others? 🔹 4. Use filters + intent tools. Tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, or even X （Twitter） search can help you find people actively talking about your space. Search for signals like: “looking for ［solution］” or “struggling with ［problem］” 🔹 5. Talk more. Pitch less. Start conversations. Ask what they’re struggling with. Share insights. Build trust before the ask. Because the best prospects aren’t bought—they’re resonated with. Remember: You don’t need everyone. You just need the right ones, and to show up where they already are. If you’re a founder trying to attract your dream customers online, let’s connect—happy to share what’s worked for me and my clients. #EarlyStageStartup #CustomerPersona #SocialSelling #StartupMarketing 

The biggest untapped funding round for your startup might be hidden in wage geography. A mid-level engineer in San Francisco costs roughly $150k plus payroll overhead. The same calibre developer in Lisbon, Bogotá, or Ho Chi Minh earns $25k–50k. That gap is not a talent discount. It is cost-of-living reality. Here is the arbitrage that many startup founders are still missing: - Runway extension. Re-allocate $100k in salary savings into customer acquisition or an extra hire. Ten remote engineers abroad can cost the same as four in the Bay Area. - Quality of life uplift. Paying an Indian dev $60k is life-changing money locally. Engagement and retention skyrocket when comp outpaces the local norm. - Time-to-build advantage. Cash always dictates velocity. Lower burn lets you experiment longer, pivot faster, and negotiate better with investors because you are not desperate for the next cheque. - Talent moat. While competitors scrap for the same over-priced engineers in Austin or San Francisco, you build a global recruitment engine that scales. Of course this requires process: async communication, clear specs, cultural empathy, and senior oversight. But those are leadership muscles you will need anyway. Early-stage capital is too precious to spend on postcode premiums. Great code ships just as fast from Manila as it does from Mountain View. In a nutshell: If your product vision is global, your talent strategy should be too. The market already priced in the arbitrage. All that is left is for founders to claim it.

 You don’t need another recruiter. You need a partner who can access talent Australia doesn’t have. Recruiters work in the local market. That’s the limitation. If carpenters, tilers, nurses, or electricians aren’t applying locally, a recruiter can’t magically create them. That’s why employers keep telling me: • “Recruiters bring me the same candidates I’ve already rejected.” • “We’ve paid fees with no long-term hires.” • “There simply aren’t workers here.” Exactly. Because the solution isn’t local recruitment. It’s global access. Here’s how I work differently: • I source from overseas talent ecosystems (India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, UAE) • I screen for real, hands-on skill - not inflated CVs • I run trade-specific vetting • I coordinate interviews between you and shortlisted candidates • I guide you through sponsorship, compliance, paperwork, and onboarding • And I stay with you until your worker lands in Australia and starts working This isn’t recruitment. This is end-to-end global workforce building. One Queensland employer told me: "Patrick, you solved in 3 weeks what we’ve been stuck on for 8 months." That’s the difference. I don’t introduce candidates - I solve labour shortages. You don’t need resumes. You need reliable people. What’s been your experience working with recruiters for hard-to-fill roles? #SkilledMigration #WorkforceSolutions #AustralianEmployers #GlobalTalent #HiringChallenges