But I think that the startup culture would do well to evolve away from using recruiters and rely more on networking.
The problem with that is that it makes it even more incestuous and hard to enter from outside. Yes, yes, if you can't find an employee to introduce you, you're not trying hard enough, etc, just like pitching a VC.
But seriously, given how hard a time we're having getting new blood now, making it harder to get in is negative progress. It's a lose.
You make a good point. I wasn't intending to promote incestuousness, and to limit potential hires to ones who got referred.... if I ever get an email out of the blue from someone looking for a job, I'll help them, and I'll be keen to see if they might be a good fit. Someone with some gumption like that is automatically more interesting to me than someone who comes from a recruiter.
Also, kids in high school, new college grads, self taught hackers.... show me someone with a strong drive and I'm half sold.
So, no, I didn't mean to imply any sort of incestuousness... I'd like the opposite. I'm interested in a lot of people that reciters would filter out. "No college degree? Trashcan!" For me, its "No college degree because he spent the four years building a crappy startup that totally failed stupidly? Hire 'em!"
PS- please don't take this as me trying to recruit. I'm not. We're not ready for that, yet.
The problem with that is that it makes it even more incestuous and hard to enter from outside. Yes, yes, if you can't find an employee to introduce you, you're not trying hard enough, etc, just like pitching a VC.
But seriously, given how hard a time we're having getting new blood now, making it harder to get in is negative progress. It's a lose.