Your frustration is understandable! Finding strong devs is tough, and the copy-paste portfolios are a major red flag. A few tweaks might help: Ensure your scenarios are tricky enough to differentiate true problem-solvers. You can go beyond usual job boards: Explore Indie Hackers, GitHub, and Stack Overflow to find passionate devs. Networking is important - you can attend meetups and conferences related to your tech stack. Most likely to get good talent there with high intent. In general take-home assignments should be short & focused) - around 2-4 hours max and you can consider offering compensation. We need to keep refining our approach, and yes don't be afraid to sell your company's vision to attract the right talent!