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Startups are competing for a limited talent pool of engineers, as according to Crain’s New York Business, it is becoming more and more important to be able to attract and hire talent. NY tech startups are relying on both outsourcing and recruitment teams in their search for engineers. For example, Manhattan-based tech startup, Conductor Inc. hired four engineers in five months over the last year, and is still on the lookout for ten more.
However, startups are losing these job candidates to larger companies like Google, Facebook, and Foursquare, to name a few. Chris Valberg, CEO of Invision, a software prototype developer, tried to hire a developer who proceeded to take a job at Amazon. Valberg told Crain’s NY that, “No way I’m going to be able to compete. Our company has a runway. Their company has an airport.” An additional complication for hiring lies in the act that specialized talent is required for each company and type of startup.
Crain’s NY has offered some advice to reader’s and startup owners on how to combat this issue. Conductor hosts networking events at its office and built its own three-person internal recruiting team. 3D printing company Shapeways keeps track of which large companies hire which kinds of engineers, and goes through job posting sites. Once Josh Levine, CEO of Shapeways, finds the right candidate he makes sure to promise them freedom in creativity and innovation.
On the other hand, Invision set out to hire experienced engineers who had families and homes of their own, offering stock options, gym memberships, a free Mac, and the option to work from home. Another Manhattan-based firm Enterpoid, has half of their 65 person staff working from Hong Kong.
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