How Startups Can Attract Superstar Talent at a Lower Cost

How do you convince highly coveted candidates to take the risk of moving from a high-paying corporation to a startup? Well, it happens more often than you might imagine in the tech industry. This article will offer some ways to help you in the battle for talent against the big guys.

If an opportunity is not only great but also presented in the right way, many top-tiered candidates jump at exciting startup roles. Often times, there are a lot of pros that outweigh the cons of choosing a startup versus large corporations. The key is for startup hiring managers to convey these pros authentically.

For instance, one of CyberCoders Recruiting Manager Ryan Berry’s candidates took a $15,000 annual pay cut by choosing a startup with literally only five people. A lot of times, short-term profit is worth sacrificing for long-term gain and fulfillment. We’ll discuss this more below.

We spoke with a few of CyberCoders exceptional recruiters who frequently work with innovative startups. Here are three essential incentives to highlight when searching for top talent at a lower cost:

1. Offer growth opportunity and fulfilling work.

“At larger corporations, candidates are often just one of thousands of employees,” says Craig Montgomery, CyberCoders lead executive recruiter. “To many large corporations, you’re just another number. Chances are you’ll end up stuck working on a project.”

Smaller, fast-moving innovative startups, on the other hand, offer an opportunity to be an integral part of the product process, having a more hands on experience.

Larger corporations may tend to have more bureaucracy, middle management and a slower approval processes. This is where startups offer a huge advantage. At 100 percent of startups, talented developers can walk right into the CTO’s office to discuss implementing new features. That kind of direct impact can be priceless.

Plus, startups execs have the capacity to figure out exactly what their small team wants and offer a fulfilling professional growth track as well.

For instance, if you find out that a talented project manager wants to learn JAVA in addition to HTML5, “I can give that candidate an opportunity to develop these skills,” says Howard Braithwaite, executive recruiter at CyberCoders.

2. The product must entice the candidate.  

Be passionate about your product or service. How does it fulfill a strong demand? How talented is the team so far? Why is this worth being a part of? These are all questions a candidate will think about as he or she contemplates making a move.

The goal is to get them “fully invested in it to make it the ‘next big thing,’” Berry says. “Depending on the success of the startup, they can really make a name for themselves if they are a key figure in the company.”

So, prepare a strong, concise pitch of your startup’s vision. This brief point is an essential prerequisite to implementing the next strategy to attract superstar talent…

3. If you can’t offer a competitive salary, consider equity or stock options.

Let’s go back to Berry’s example mentioned in the beginning of this article. His candidate had the choice between a $125,000 salary at a huge, 30,000 employee national corporation versus $110,000 at a five-person startup.

“He took the startup’s offer because he saw the potential to get acquired. He saw an opportunity for his equity to turn into serious cash,” Berry says. “And they actually did get acquired.”

Berry and his startup client clearly conveyed an enticing vision, which convinced the candidate to work at a lower salary range.

“Smart candidates know that—in the long-term—stock options at the next Facebook or Snapchat can be worth way more than a bigger paycheck at a larger corporation,” Montgomery says.

We want to hear from you! Do you think these examples resonate with your experiences in today’s market? Chat with us @CyberCoders.