The idea here is that this will remove the need for pretty much all of that. My read on it is that it's meant to be an entirely new replacement funnel, not an additional one.

They're going to have a tough road ahead of them selling everyone on that idea, both employers and potential employees. But if they get some high profile success stories, it's possible. Hiring is faddish, there's no reason these guys can't leverage that to their benefit.

Personally, I think it's really cool they're trying this. And that the two HN posters I disagree with the most often (maybe because they post so often) are the ones doing a startup I think is really interesting. They've chosen a domain area that can have huge leverage effects on the industry as a whole (and thus the economy as a whole) if it works. I dunno if they're thinking of it like that, or would admit it if they are, but it's one of those frighteningly ambitious ideas.