Today, we’re talking about getting investor help on hiring. As professional networkers, your investors are a great resource for recruiting but you do have to put in a little effort to get the results. Asking if they “Know any good engineers?” will not yield a lot of candidates. Instead, here’s some things you can ask for that will be effective:
1. First, ask for 3 specific names for an open role with a near term deadline. This forces the investor to search their contacts and help you ASAP or say no to a treasured portfolio company. So you might ask: Can you provide 3 names for front end developers by Tuesday next week?
2. Ask for them to post your open roles on their social media and in their mailing list. VCs spend a lot of time marketing, often having a significant and relevant audience, you should absolutely try to access it.
3. For most startup investors, the majority of their companies fail but that doesn’t mean there isn’t great talent at those companies. Ask for a list of the investor’s companies that didn’t survive the last year and start reaching out to their relevant former employees.
