How do you attract smart people to work at your startup?

Re:How do you attract smart people to work at your startup? by paulgb on Monday September 24, 2007 @10:59PM (#59238)

I'm a student who will soon (spring/summer) be looking for an internship with a start-up, so I was reading this from the other point of view trying to figure out how start-ups recruit so I would know where to look. As it turns out, I am in Waterloo as well.

I've been wondering for a while how much of a disadvantage I am in terms of getting an internship like this because I am not in the co-op program (besides advice and employment courses), as an employer do you give this much thought? (sorry to go off topic; I have talked to students about this but I figured I should jump at the chance to ask an actual employer.)

By the way, any chance you will be at BarCamp?

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Re:How do you attract smart people to work at your startup? by axiom on Tuesday September 25, 2007 @12:14AM (#59281)

Are you at a disadvantage by not being in co-op? Yes, definitely. Get in co-op. Seriously, it's really hard to overstate how valuable this is.

However, a lot of companies that post jobs at UW also post them online. RIM for example hires hundreds of students from UW every term and their entire application process is online so you're probably not at a disadvantage there. Microsoft has their recruiting sessions here every few days it seems, so just attend one of those and hand out your resume. Now that Google has a branch in town just attend one of their sessions too.

If you're specifically looking to work for a startup, your best bet is to look up companies in the Accelerator Center (north campus, in the Research and Technology park.) There are about 15 startups there now. Terrapath and SuitedMedia are on a hiring binge, so just walk in there and talk to the president, you'll probably have a job on the spot. Don't be afraid, the guys there are all only a few years older than you, so don't feel intimidated at the prospect of just coming in and talking to the boss :)

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Re:How do you attract smart people to work at your startup? by paulgb on Tuesday September 25, 2007 @10:36AM (#59416)

Thanks a lot for the response, I've asked a few people the same question but from an employer the response has a lot more weight. I likely will apply for co-op when the next opportunity comes around. Since you made it sound easy to get a job with some of the smaller/younger startups, I guess the benefit of coop is that the larger companies (RIM/MS/Google/etc.) will take me more seriously? My thinking was that if I choose not to reapply, I would leave my summers open if I felt like working on an open source project, or if I had an opportunity to do research, or get involved with a student start-up, or if I wanted to go home for a few months. I still have to wait a while before I can even apply to transfer, so I will see how things go before making my decision.

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Re:How do you attract smart people to work at your startup? by hello_moto on Monday September 24, 2007 @11:42PM (#59260)

I'm not trying to be rude but they're looking for someone who is ready to do the task. If you wanted a chance to grow (as in someone to mentor you), you should definitely go to another place.

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Re:How do you attract smart people to work at your startup? by paulgb on Tuesday September 25, 2007 @12:09AM (#59278)

I'm sure they are. They also happen to be recruiting people from my university, and they are in a situation I will be on the other side of in a few months time. The fact that I am in Waterloo is relevant not because I want this specific internship (heck, I don't even know what it is), but because I am interested in the area's job market. Who better to ask than a local employer?

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