How we've attracted top talent to our early-stage bootstrapped startup

Something about this article doesn't sit right with me. Perhaps it's the self congratulatory tone, or maybe it's all the talk of brand building, "culture", or using social media to show off their company's "personality" -- but whatever it is I found it mildly nauseating. It's great they like their new hires, but how did they quantify that they're "top talent"?

I may be too old and jaded for this sort of thing.

The social proof on IG being what several applicants stated as what drew them to the company is unfortunate. Now even more companies will feel the need to project zany and fun.

I'm just getting too old for this.

Self-congratulatory promotional posts are very common in the startup industry, but even then this seems unusually cringey. I can't put my finger on what exactly makes it worse. Maybe it is the Instagramy nature of their self-promotion.

I remember meeting the co-founders through Startup School back in 2017 and they were pretty genuine and enthusiastic about their product. I think they had just started development. I'm glad to hear Canny is doing well.

These types of articles are nice to read but maybe not for posting onto HN because it's a little fluffy and non-technical/non-quantitative as can be seen from the critical responses.

As a side note, I personally think it's difficult (but not impossible) to use social networks as a way to determine a company's culture. Everyone should be mindful that IG/Facebook captures only the moments someone wants to share.

> With some beer in her system, she’s a master with words and the numbers that drive them.

What does that mean? Does she have to be drunk to be able to work?

This reads like some branding / self promotional thing rather than someone sharing something of value about hiring.

They're reading into this too much. Top talent likes

- Remote work

- Ability to contribute to "moving the needle"

- Profitable, which probably means decent pay

I'm a big fan of what Sarah & Andrew have done at Canny and how they have done it.

This article (humbly) omits the role that having a really great product plays in recruiting. Canny is well designed and built and delivers instant ROI. To a degree, job applicants can sense what working at a place will be like, based on the care the existing team puts into what they are building.

They do each other's laundry??

Top talent = working for a big four or unicorn = leetcode 24/7.