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The Referral Revolution

May is already the 2nd worst month in terms of layoffs in the past year and we’ve still got a week to go.

If you’ve been impacted, Michelle Volberg & team are gifting care packages — resume reviews, intros, dinner. Linkedin post here. (1350 likes, 85 reposts).

For big tech, it’s rough.

For startups, it’s open season on world-class talent.

Since January, nearly 100k tech workers have been laid off.

Translation: 100k seasoned tech workers got freed up for startups that actually care.

You’ve felt it. Your inbox is flooded. Your job posts get 500 applicants a day.

Your issue now is filtering through the noise.

At every great startup I’ve been part of, one thing stood out: talent density stays high when A-players bring in their equally cracked friends.

It’s the one way to narrow down the list when you have 1000s of decent options.

Twill is a referral marketplace where seasoned tech people recommend their friends so you get pre-vetted candidates. And you only pay when you hire.

I also suspect there’s a big camp of people, severance in hand and time on their side, who’re looking to cofound companies.

Once again, you’re faced with the same challenge: filtering candidates.

The best way to do that is with sufficient context, rather than a profile and a list of accomplishments. That’s where community comes in.

I’m obviously building one but there are a ton of others out there, online and IRL.

Whether you’re looking for a cofounder or early hire, the secret sauce is to understand how they interact with others, their reputation, their vibe.

That’s all for now,

BTW — The Cherrytree cofounder community is now open. Join here →

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