Ping-pong Tables and Smoothie bar, is That What Your Employees Need?
Hey Founders,
As you know, hiring and retaining top tech talent when you're a startup is hard.
Big tech companies have deep pockets and brag about so many perks, while you're trying to stay on budget. But don't worry, I've got some proven strategies to help you compete and build an amazing tech team without breaking the bank or trying to attract them with “happy hours”.
Why This Matters
Your tech team is the core of your startup. Hire the right team and you’ll grow, hire a bad team and you’ll probably fail.
But with limited resources, you need to be smart and strategic about how you attract and retain talent.
Work on Your Compensation Packages
Cash isn't everything, more on that later. But that’s still one of your main weapons, especially when you're competing against tech giants.
Here's how you can build a good deal:
Equity: Offer stock options or restricted stock units (RSUs). This aligns your team's interests with the company's success. Be transparent about the potential value and vesting schedule.
Flexible work arrangements: Remote work, flexible hours, or a 4-day workweek are hugely attractive. According to a 2023 State of Remote Work report, 98% of remote workers expressed a desire to work remotely at least part-time for the rest of their careers. Offer this flexibility, and you'll stand out.
Learning & development budget: Your team’s growth is your best asset. Invest in it. Offer conference attendance, online course subscriptions, or certifications. For instance, you can allocate a specific amount per year for each employee to use in professional development. This shows you're committed to their long-term success.
Performance bonuses: Tie bonuses to key milestones or KPIs. This could be linked to product launches, user growth, or revenue targets. Make sure these are clearly defined and achievable.
Remember, transparency is key. Be clear about your compensation structure and the potential value of equity. Don't oversell - tech professionals can smell BS a mile away.
Build an Attractive Company Culture
Employees are not only here for money. They need goals and purpose, they need to be involved and heard.
Mission-driven work: Communicate your vision clearly. Show how their work will make a real impact.
Autonomy and ownership: Give your tech team the freedom to make decisions and own projects. Google's famous "20% time" policy (where engineers could spend 20% of their time on side projects) led to the creation of Gmail and AdSense. As a startup, you probably won’t be able to offer 20%. But even a day a month can be attractive.
No outdated tech stacks: Use modern tools and frameworks. Tech talent loves working with the latest tech. While you should not follow the trends blindly, and choose your tools wisely, if you're using outdated systems, consider upgrading. You could even involve your team in the choice of the stack. That would lead to increased productivity and happier developers.
Hackathons or innovation days: Foster creativity and allow time for passion projects. Atlassian's "ShipIt Days" have led to many product innovations. Runny quarterly hackathons where teams can work on any project they think will benefit the company.
Leverage mentorship: Pair junior devs with senior team members. This helps with skill development and creates a supportive environment. It's also a great selling point when recruiting both junior and senior talent.
Leverage Your Network and Online Platforms
You don't need to lead massive recruitment campaigns. What you can use instead is:
Employee referrals: Your current team likely knows other great developers. Offer referral bonuses. Greenhouse found that referred candidates are 4x more likely to be hired than non-referred candidates.
GitHub and Stack Overflow: These are the 2 platforms techs use the most. Look for active contributors in your tech stack, and engage with them genuinely.
Tech meetups and conferences: Sponsoring or speaking at events can raise your profile and help your startup gain popularity. Even if you can't afford to be a main sponsor, you could host a small workshop or lightning talk. Show that you’re the leader in your space.
LinkedIn: Use Boolean search to find candidates with specific skills. For example, to find a React developer in San Francisco who's worked at startups, you might search: "React" AND "San Francisco" AND ("startup" OR "early-stage")
Can I Compete With Big Tech Companies?
Definitely, you can't outspend them. But you can do many things.
Start by highlighting the mission impact. In a startup, one engineer can have a massive influence on the product.
Then talk about growth opportunities. Employees like to have clear paths for career advancement. In a fast-growing environment, a junior developer could become a team lead in a year or two, much faster than in big tech.
Your challenges are unique, showcase them. When companies grow a lot, their tech problems can feel abstract. Your challenges are tangible and exciting. Be specific about the technical challenges you're facing and how they'll need the candidate's skills.
Take the time to research candidates. Personalize your outreach and customize your pitch. You can mention their GitHub projects or blog posts, for instance. Show you've done your homework and genuinely think they'd be a great fit. The hiring process is a two-way street.
And please, make decisions quickly. Top talent won't wait around. Don’t complexify the hiring process. Aim to go from application to offer in 2-3 weeks max, without having 5 steps to go through.
This doesn't mean rushing your decisions, but rather being efficient with scheduling and feedback.
I’ve helped startups choose their tech stack and hire the best team for more than 15 years. If you have any questions or doubts, I offer a free 30-minute consultation to help you make the right decisions.
Employees Don’t Care About Free Snacks
Don’t take me wrong, we all love small attention. But if all that we talked about earlier is not here, a ping-pong table or a dog-friendly office won’t close the deal.
And believe me, I saw a lot of “perks” in job offers:
Ping pong tables or foosball, free snacks and beverages (often including beer on tap), nap pods or meditation rooms, on-site gym or fitness classes, casual dress code (is this even a perk?), regular company outings or happy hours, game rooms with video game consoles, in-office massages…
While these perks might sound fun on paper, they often fail to address what truly matters to employees.
Many of these “incentives” are designed to keep employees in the office longer. Free dinner? Great, now you can work late! On-site gym? No excuse to leave early for a workout!
They also highlight a superficial culture: Ping-pong tables don't create a good company culture.
Employees often value things like fair pay, good health insurance, and reasonable work hours more than fancy coffee machines.
An Effective Job Listings for Tech Talent
Let’s make it quick and easy:
Do's:
Clearly describe the role and responsibilities
Highlight challenges and problems your team will solve
Explain your tech stack and development practices
Describe opportunities for growth and learning
Emphasize work-life balance policies
Be transparent about compensation range and equity offerings
Showcase your company's mission and potential impact
Describe your team culture and collaboration style
Mention opportunities for ownership and autonomy
Don'ts:
Use cliché phrases like "ninja" or "rock star" to describe the role (seriously, don’t)
Write all technologies and programming languages you can think of. That’s not a shopping list
Try to attract talent with trivial perks like free snacks or game rooms
List an excessive number of required skills or years of experience
Be vague about responsibilities or expectations
Ignore the importance of diversity and inclusion
Focus solely on what you want, rather than what you offer
Use complex application processes that waste candidates' time
Oversell or make promises you can't keep
The best job listings are clear, honest, and focused on what truly matters to both you and tech professionals. They should give candidates a realistic preview of what it's like to work at your company and why the role is exciting and valuable for their career.
Conclusion
Hiring top tech talent on a startup budget is challenging, but not impossible. Focus on your unique advantages, create an attractive culture, and be creative with compensation, and you’ll be able to build a top tech team without breaking the bank.
Your startup can offer something that big tech often can't - the chance to have a real impact from day one. Sell that vision, and you'll find the right people who are excited to help you build it.
Lastly, don’t forget that you need them as much as they need you.
I’ve helped startups choose their tech stack and hire the best team for more than 15 years. If you have any questions or doubts, I offer a free 30-minute consultation to help you make the right decisions.