3 Ways to Attract Top Tech Talent to your Start-Up

If you're a tech start-up seeking to attract top talent to your organisation in 2021, here are some great tips for ensuring you're ahead of the curve in a highly-comptitive space!

1. Talk about autonomy, speed and impact

   Start-ups have a big advantage over larger companies in that they are uninhibited by bureaucracy, red tape and overly engineered processes. This means things can happen quickly. Decisions can get made in real time. This is really attractive to tech professionals who want to get things done.
   
   So it's vital that the leaders within start-ups give their staff the autonomy to make decisions and enjoy the benefit of being able to move quickly. This autonomy is critical. It becomes really compelling when you join this autonomy with impact.
   
   If your tech staff have the authority to make decisions and move quickly, then they will see how much their direct contribution is having on the business. This is hugely motivating and will drive further engagement and performance. It's also a really great way to sell the opportunity to potential new hires. 

2. Sell the story

   For a start-up, it should feel like it's the team against the world. This sense of building something really unique, potentially disruptive and interesting. The founder story and vision for the business can be a really compelling narrative for people who might want to join the company.
   
   Will they get a sense of the adventure that this role will bring? Will they get to be part of that journey with the founders in taking on the industry? This story must be articulated through the interview process, the job specs, the website, all social media etc. 

3. Present a compelling upside  

   For tech professionals there can often be a very attractive potential upside to joining. This is normally in the form of share value being realised through an exit down the line. If you can provide equity to new hires, and make an honest and realistic pitch about what these shares could be worth in 3-5 years, all going well, then this could be really attractive to a new hire.
   
   The prospect of making, say, 300k in an exit, could be life changing and very unlikely to ever happen in a larger organisation. However, there are pitfalls with this technique to attract talent. For example, if the company does not follow the trajectory you have pitched in terms of growth, staff could get spooked and walk away.
   
   It also could attract candidates with a certain mentality that might be more focused on what they can get out of the company rather than what they can bring. But overall, this is a valid and powerful tool for talent acquisition. 

We hope these tips come in useful for the next time you're on the lookout for that great new hire who can transform your start-up's chances of success in the tech space!