Notre Dame students can apply for Innovation Sprint Lab with ClickUp and Teamworthy Ventures by August 28.

Get genius at the snap of your fingers. Hiring full-time has never been more expensive for early-stage startups. But there’s a 10x cheaper arbitrage hiding in plain sight: SWE and GTM interns. Most founders try to hire an army of full-time talent 🚫 No guarantee they’ll execute 🚫 No flexibility if they don’t 🚫 Burn rate that kills runway Meanwhile, the smartest teams are building lean, high-impact intern pipelines. The math is simple: $10K/mo for a full-time hire vs. $1k/mo for a top student. That’s 10 shots on goal for the cost of one “maybe.” And if they’re a 10x candidate? You hire them full-time, with zero downside risk. And here’s the bigger picture: AI is commoditizing code. Playbooks exist for every GTM motion. The real competitive edge isn’t just talent It’s how fast you can test, iterate, and scale. We started with interns plugging engineering + GTM gaps. Now we’re powering growth for: ✅ YC-backed startups ✅ Series A/B scaleups ✅ Founders without HR teams ✅ Ecosystems launching talent at scale Every month, new use cases expand this market by 10x. The $100B vision is clear: Rounds.so becomes the “AWS of talent” for startups. On-demand. Flexible. Guaranteed. Startups don’t need bloated teams. They need velocity. And interns, are the ultimate growth hack.

🚨 Market Update: August 2025 As summer winds down, the market is heating up. I’ve had positive conversations this week with Series A and B startups and here’s what I’m seeing stand out: 🔹 What’s in demand: Engineers who can talk to customers, shape the product, and think like owners, not just coders. 🔹 Compensation reality: Startups are more competitive with cash comp now than ever, knowing they need to compete with the market. At the same time, they’re looking for candidates who value equity, since the upside matters to both sides. 🔹 Founder challenge: Differentiation. Every AI startup says they’re “revolutionizing X.” Candidates want clarity on why your mission is unique and how they’ll grow with you. 👉 If you’re hiring and want more insight into what candidates are asking for, I’m happy to share what I’m hearing directly from the market.

European VCs are actively hiring again. New funds, fresh capital, and rising confidence are creating real opportunities. But let’s be clear: the supply-demand gap is still huge. Hundreds apply for just a few dozen seats. Here’s how to actually stand out: 1️⃣ Engage early – Don’t just apply cold. Comment, DM, and build a presence with partners & associates before you need the intro. 2️⃣ Leverage warm intros – Alumni, professors, even startup founders you admire. A thoughtful ask beats a cold LinkedIn “Hi.” 3️⃣ Show investor thinking – Share short memos, startup teardowns, or market maps. It signals pattern recognition. 4️⃣ Broaden your scope – Don’t sleep on smaller funds, accelerators, or scout programs. They’re easier doors in. 5️⃣ Operate like a founder – VCs love builders. Even a side hustle can be your differentiator. 💬 If you’ve landed a VC internship/job, what’s one underrated tactic that gave you an edge? #thedatapitch #venturecapital #startups

Everyone saw a “Tinder for jobs” built by an all-immigrant team of undergrads. But here’s what they didn’t see. This is one of just 3 companies we invested in this year at Fast Forward Venture Studio. And it’s already outperforming. → Usage is growing weekly. → Their founders move fast, ask for help, and actually use it. They improved on payment models, moved to SF once they graduated. → One major partnership is already in motion. No buzzwords. No stealth mode hype. Just a focused, hungry team solving a problem they understand firsthand: College students have no idea what job to apply to. So they built an app that lets you swipe through options, track your interests, and get matched with jobs that actually make sense. And here’s the kicker — they built v1 in 30 days, launched it, and started pulling in real users from day one. There’s something about immigrant founders. They’re not afraid to bet on themselves. Neither are we.

🚫 Myth: All tech jobs are in big corporations. ✅ Fact: Startups, nonprofits, and small businesses need tech talent too. Tech careers aren’t limited to Silicon Valley giants. From mission-driven nonprofits to fast-growing startups and local businesses, organizations of every size rely on tech professionals to keep operations running, reach new audiences, and innovate. If you’re exploring a tech career path, don’t limit your search—you may find the right fit in places you didn’t expect. #TechCareers #MythDebunked #CareerGrowth #FutureOfWork

Being a Founding Engineer isn’t a job. It’s a bet. At Purrfect Hire, we see it every week: the startups that scale the fastest almost always have a founding engineer who builds fast, learns faster, and makes business calls, not just code calls. ♦️ This role matters because: 1. You turn vision into product before runway runs out. 2. You set the culture and pace for the entire company. 3. You learn in 6 months what takes 6 years in Big Tech. 💡 For ambitious engineers, it’s the fastest path to entrepreneurship. You get equity, impact, and the chance to write a company’s DNA from day one. Today, demand is exploding: +60% in AI 👉 If you’ve ever thought about starting your own company, becoming a founding engineer is the ultimate training camp.

I’ve met entrepreneurs who started with nothing but a dream and unstoppable drive. I’ve seen founders stumble, fail, and get right back up, turning obstacles into breakthroughs. Success isn’t about having the “best” idea out of the gate. It’s about grit, resilience, and refusing to quit. Think about Elon Musk kicked out of PayPal, then changed the world with Tesla and SpaceX. Or Brian Chesky, who built Airbnb from a tiny apartment into a $100 billion empire. If you’re starting out or dreaming big, here’s my advice: → Don’t fear failure. It’s just part of the journey. Learn fast, adapt faster. → Stay curious. Keep learning about tech, markets, and your customers. → Build your tribe. Mentors, investors, fellow founders, your network is your net worth. Keep pushing. The next success story could be yours. #labmentix #founderjourney #startupadvice #hiring #internship

5 Things Early-Stage Startup Founders Must Do to Land Top Technical Talent Hiring world-class technical talent is one of the toughest and most important challenges for early-stage founders. Their ability to build a strong technical team can determine whether your startup takes off or stalls. In a competitive market, you can’t just post a job description and wait. Here are five ways to stand out and close top talent: 1. Sell the Mission Relentlessly Big tech offers better pay and perks. Your edge is purpose. Be crystal clear about why your startup matters and why it has to exist now. Candidates should leave every conversation energized by the mission. 2. Lead With Founder Energy In the earliest stages, you are the culture. Top candidates evaluate not just the company but you. Show passion, conviction, and ambition. Be honest about risks, but let your drive and urgency shine. 3. Make the Process Personal and Fast Respect candidates’ time and skip unnecessary steps. Involve founders early; many hires only join if they feel a direct connection with leadership. And when you find someone you want, move quickly before another company closes them. 4. Show, Don’t Just Tell Technical people are skeptical. Instead of relying on slides, share a demo, walk through your architecture, or explain how you make product decisions. Transparency builds trust and excitement; it makes them feel part of the garage from day one. 5. Create Real Ownership Equity matters, but ownership goes beyond stock. Give hires influence on product direction, technical strategy, and culture. Top talent wants to build with you, not just code for you. Early hires are betting on founders as much as the company. If you can sell the mission, lead with energy, move fast, offer transparency, and give real ownership, you’ll win more than your share of top technical talent. The first 10 hires shape the next 100; treat recruiting as your most important founder job.

I had a conversation with a talented biotech software engineer: "I'm just feeling isolated right now. I've been working for about two years at this company on a team of one." Nobody talks about this part of startup life. Being the "only" anything at work can slowly kill your professional growth in the wrong environment. One engineer. One designer. One tech. You have the ownership, but it can become difficult to learn from others if your leadership isn't intentional. Your skills plateau without peer review. The solution isn't always jumping ship, so start building bridges before you burn out: - Join professional groups. - Attend virtual meetups. - Find a technical mentor outside work. But sometimes you DO need a bigger pond to keep swimming forward. #biotech #softwaredevelopment #careergrowth #professionaldevelopment #startup #techtalent #workcuIture

I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Angus Bean, Chaitanya Kuber & Christopher G. Chelliah at the S2S Summit this week representing both Discovered People & Chinwags Key points: > Onboarding is a huge part of the process when scaling your engineering team. Don’t underestimate this part of the process or it will cost you time and money > The more AI your startup can use effectively at the moment, the better chance you have of attracting and retaining top talent. Just like money talks, AI does now too and I’m seeing engineers join startups for less money who focus on AI > The landscape is changing in hiring. Startups are still hiring traditional software engineers but they are mostly focusing on finding individuals with domain knowledge and AI project experience Big thanks to Tank Stream Labs and Cassandra Diaz & Bradley Delamare in particular for the invite 👊