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How we think about technical hiring: screening, searches, fees, and building software teams that last.

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36 articles across 6 categories. Filter by what you're hiring for.

Choosing a partner Hiring senior engineers at Series A: build the right search Series A is where engineering hiring becomes a system or a bottleneck. How to structure senior searches for the stage. Jul 8, 2026 · 4 min read

Hiring science The real cost of a mis-hire at a software startup The salary is the smallest line item. An honest accounting of what a failed senior hire costs, and where the money actually goes. Jul 1, 2026 · 4 min read

Leadership hiring Inside a confidential CTO search Replacing a technical leader who has not left yet is a discretion exercise as much as a search. How the confidential process works. Jun 16, 2026 · 4 min read

Choosing a partner Replacement guarantees in recruiting: what to demand The guarantee clause is where agency confidence becomes contractual. How to read one, and the terms worth negotiating. Jun 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Leadership hiring When a startup actually needs a head of data Most companies hire data leadership too early or two years too late. The signals that say now, and what the first leader should be. May 19, 2026 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks Hiring ML engineers without big-tech compensation You will not win ML talent on cash against the giants. The candidates you can win, and the offer that wins them. May 5, 2026 · 4 min read

Hiring science Stage fit: why a Series B engineer can sink a seed startup Excellent engineers fail in the wrong stage constantly. What stage fit actually consists of, and how to screen for it. Apr 21, 2026 · 4 min read

Leadership hiring Classic exec search vs startup-speed search for a VP Eng The retained exec-search playbook was built for enterprises. Startup leadership hiring needs its rigor without its calendar. Apr 7, 2026 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks Sourcing the engineers who never apply The best engineers in your market have not opened a job board in years. A practical playbook for reaching the non-searching majority. Mar 17, 2026 · 4 min read

Choosing a partner Why screening should be included, not sold as an add-on When an agency prices assessment separately, it is telling you what it thinks the product is. Fit screening belongs inside the fee. Mar 3, 2026 · 3 min read

Comparisons & alternatives Boutique agency vs big staffing firm for technical roles Brand size and search quality are different things. Where scale helps, where it hurts, and which fits a startup's technical hiring. Feb 17, 2026 · 4 min read

Leadership hiring VP of Engineering: hire outside or promote from within? The promote-or-hire fork decides your engineering org's next two years. A framework that is honest about both failure modes. Feb 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Hiring science Why psychometric screening cuts mis-hires Resumes and interviews measure polish. Psychometrics measure fit. Here is why we include it in every search, at no extra cost. Jan 20, 2026 · 4 min read

Comparisons & alternatives Where senior engineers get found (not job boards) LinkedIn Recruiter and job boards sample the searching minority. The senior market lives elsewhere. A map of where searches really close. Jan 6, 2026 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks Closing senior engineers when you're not the highest offer Startups lose offer battles they should win by fighting on the wrong axis. What actually moves senior candidates at decision time. Dec 16, 2025 · 4 min read

Leadership hiring Choosing an executive search partner for a startup CTO hire Big-name firms, boutiques, and startup-native searches each fail differently. How to pick the partner for the most leveraged hire you will make. Dec 2, 2025 · 4 min read

Hiring science Structured vs unstructured interviews: the evidence Decades of selection research point one direction. Why unstructured interviews persist anyway, and how to add structure without losing warmth. Nov 18, 2025 · 4 min read

Comparisons & alternatives RPO vs recruiting agency: what a 30-person startup needs RPO embeds a hiring function; an agency runs searches. Buying the wrong one wastes a year. Here is the honest dividing line. Nov 4, 2025 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks Data scientist or ML engineer? Scope the role first Half of failed data hires were mis-scoped, not mis-hired. How to tell which role your problem actually needs. Oct 21, 2025 · 4 min read

Choosing a partner What separates a technical recruiter from a resume forwarder Half the industry sources candidates; the other half forwards keywords. The five behaviors that reveal which one you hired. Oct 7, 2025 · 4 min read

Pricing & fees Is retained search worth it for a CTO hire? A cost breakdown The retained fee is the visible cost. The invisible costs sit on the other side of the ledger. How to run the math like an operator. Sep 16, 2025 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks The PM interview loop that predicts on-the-job performance Case studies reward performers. Working sessions reveal operators. How to build a PM loop that measures the actual job. Sep 2, 2025 · 4 min read

Comparisons & alternatives Beyond marketplaces: full-time engineers who stay Marketplaces like Toptal solve for speed and flexibility. Building a permanent team is a different problem with different tools. Aug 19, 2025 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks Hiring engineers when you can't review the code yourself Non-technical founders can absolutely hire great engineers. What to borrow, what to verify, and the traps that catch smart people. Aug 5, 2025 · 4 min read

Choosing a partner 12 questions to ask a recruiting agency before you sign The diligence checklist that turns identical agency pitches into an obvious decision. Print it, ask all twelve, compare in writing. Jul 15, 2025 · 5 min read

Hiring science Time-to-hire benchmarks for senior engineering roles What a healthy timeline looks like from kickoff to signed offer, where searches stall, and which delays are self-inflicted. Jun 3, 2025 · 4 min read

Comparisons & alternatives In-house recruiter or agency: the math for scaling The break-even is not where most founders think. How to compare a recruiting hire against a search partner honestly. May 6, 2025 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks Writing a JD a senior engineer will actually answer Senior engineers read job descriptions like code reviews. What to cut, what to say plainly, and the one section nobody writes. Apr 1, 2025 · 4 min read

Pricing & fees Percentage fees vs flat fees: recruiting pricing decoded What percentage-of-salary and flat-fee models each optimize for, where each one quietly misprices, and how to choose. Mar 18, 2025 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks The founding engineer search: equity, stage fit, and closing A founding engineer is a co-builder, not employee number one. How to find people wired for zero-to-one and close them honestly. Feb 4, 2025 · 5 min read

Choosing a partner How to shortlist a technical recruiting agency Every agency pitch sounds identical. Here is the diligence that separates search partners from resume vendors. Jan 7, 2025 · 4 min read

Hiring science Why engineering hires fail by month six Skills rarely kill a hire. Fit, stage mismatch, and broken onboarding do. The failure modes and how to screen for them. Dec 3, 2024 · 4 min read

Comparisons & alternatives Retained vs contingency recruiting for engineering The two classic agency models pull in different directions. Match the model to the role's seniority and scarcity, not to habit. Nov 19, 2024 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks Hiring your first PM: a search that defines the org The first product manager sets the pattern for every product hire after them. How to scope, source, and close the role. Oct 2, 2024 · 5 min read

Pricing & fees What technical recruiting agencies really charge, and why Fee percentages, retainers, and what the number actually buys you. A plain-English guide for founders comparing agencies. Sep 17, 2024 · 4 min read

Hiring playbooks An engineering hiring process that actually closes A good process is not more rounds. It is fewer, sharper steps that respect the candidate and end in a signed offer. Aug 6, 2024 · 5 min read

Quick answers

The three numbers founders ask about first.

What does a search cost?

A success fee when we place someone. No retainers, no add-ons. How agencies price searches.

How fast is a typical search?

9 days median from first call to first founder interview, about 29% faster than the public benchmarks. The benchmarks.

Do the placements stick?

82% of the people we place are still in seat at 12 months. Psychometric screening does the heavy lifting. Why screening works.

Let's build your team.

A short call is enough to scope the search.

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