Toronto: How We Hire The Best.

So, you've got it all figured out. You've noticed all the bad ass talent in Toronto [why we're here], you've got yourself a swanky new office at Queen and Spadina [map]. And you're just about ready to put a shingle [pic] out on the corner and start fending off the swarms of smart, passionate and almost free canuck hackers that Toronto has to offer.

But wait, whats that? Its not working?!?! Do I event need to tell you you're doing it wrong? Really?

Common son, just because they are from our cold (and beloved) neither-world, doesn't mean they don't have options. You are talking about the best talent in the world remember. Cheap is cheap like relative to other places. And if they ever didn't have options they would just (begrudgingly) head down to the valley and run the place.

You need to get better at this whole recruiting kick-ass people thing. We all do. So in an effort to draw a line in the sand, and raise the bar a little bit, this is our strategy.

Pipeline + Referrals

It starts off simple enough, eh? You need a pipeline, and you need to get referrals. The pipeline is interns, past co-workers, partners, and generally the talent seeds that you're planting around your business. Some are really deterministic, like co-ops - they take 4 months to sprout, 4 to grow, and BAM you're done. Other take longer, maybe years - but I'd wager you and your co-founders will still be doing something that looks a lot like this when the time comes.

The referrals come from the greater eco-system you exist in. The belief that you are a premium article. The awareness of your brand, problem and market. And the time you spend making sure that the people who matter (ie. potential hires and their friends) know who you are. Most startups I know are sucking and both of these. The pipeline is obviously pretty hard to hack, that takes a bit of focus and a bit of time. And the referrals often seem blitzed, last minute scrambles where people settle instead of hiring the absolute best of the best.

Get Real

For starters lets just get something out of the way. Your prospects include the best of the best, lets treat them with the respect they deserve. If you're looking for a co-founder (aka no salary) then be upfront about it, and you better be damn willing to give them half the company. If you're looking for employee #1 don't pretend like you've got it all figured out - smart people like solving hard problems. And if you're 5 years old, 30 guys, and your office reminds people of the Matrix, don't pretend to be a startup. Smart people respect honesty, and are more likely to think you're smart if you're candid about your business. Besides, they're gonna figure it out pretty quick, and they aren't gonna stick around just because you've given them a job offer.

Brand Matters

Figure out who you are, and work it. Maybe you're the crazy guys working on the crazy hard problems - awesome, own it [plug]. Maybe you're doing mobile, be the best at that [five]. Social, likewise [mycitylives]. Hell maybe you're a photo sharing app, but be the best damn photo-sharers in the city [500px]. You are aiming to get mentioned and remembered every time someone kick-ass is poking around for their next thing. You don't have to have the sexiest thing by any stretch, but you do need to own something. Oh, and if you can't, you probably have way bigger problems than hiring referrals.

At Upverter we are solving some hard graph /data problems and doing things in the browser that no one has ever even tried before. And the people that get jazzed about these kind of problems know who we are. We have a pretty solid referral stream because of it, and when we're actively recruiting we get a lot of outside help.

Put In The Time

Guess what, the world probably has no idea who you are. Thats ok, but its only going to hurt you when you're trying to hire. Im not talking about some epic party either. But you are gonna have to buy some beers. And you're gonna have to spend some time. You're gonna have to take a lot of meetings. And you're going to have to help people who will never help you back. People don't pick their next career over night, and normal people are incredibly risk adverse. Use this to your advantage (ie build a network that connects and makes you a safer pick).

The same is true of recruiting co-ops, and for the sake of the pipeline you NEED to be hiring them. Throw an event [london], or better yet join one of ours [chainsaw]. Spend time with some students. Build some ambassadors for your company. Make their lives better. Give them swag. I've spent the last 8 years being, working with, and hiring UWaterloo co-ops and I can say from experience that the whole process has an incredible inertia to it. Advice: Start the mass moving before you need it to be, and spend the energy to keep it going.

Oh, And One More Thing

I understand why average companies use recruiters. But its my opinion that in a knowledge based business your success is directly tied to the caliber of your team. And if you can't hire kick-ass talent you need to figure out how, or find someone who can and integrate them into the core of your team ASAP. If you could do it without them, then go do it. But otherwise you better own the talent problem and be hiring the damn best there is.