Okay.
> So, my question is ... how do early stage startups recruit hackers?
Shouldn't you know that?
Seriously - if you don't know how people do it now, what makes this a good biz for you to get into?
What I am unsure of, is if I should sell my services directly to founders or if my direct customers should be headhunters who are already working with startups.
Okay
> as well as detecting who is a good fit for a given startup.
how do you know that? Maybe you've got something else, but your stated strength has nothing to do with startups.
I think the people who rely on their social network must either be friends with other hackers (I'm mostly not) or live in the bay area or something where there are lots of hackers. I mostly run in hippie/activist/academic circles and I'm not swarmed by people with tech/business chops so it's been a more difficult process for me. I would welcome a site or a service that would innovate around this problem.
Advertising broadly for a co-founder is like running an ad that says: BRIDE NEEDED FOR IMMEDIATE BABY PRODUCTION. You might get somebody eventually, but I doubt it will be the caliber of person you want.
I found my cofounder after 3 months of energetically working my personal network. I corresponded with maybe 200 people and met at least 25 in person. If I was going to be spending the next 5-10 years working with somebody, I wanted to be happy with my choice. And I sure am!
I've struggled finding a co-founder as well and have milked my network for everything I can squeeze out of it. I'm determined to find an engineering partner who I can really build many projects with for years.
If you're looking to build something, find a way for people to connect directly and strip away the antagonism/jaded-ness that usually shrouds business people & engineers from connecting effectively.
I understand where you are coming from though. Your perspective is that if you know your product and you know your business then you should know the people with the skills to make the business a success without the need for a middle-man.
Recruiters/headhunters aren't just keyword matching, human search engines. I'm a consultant and the service I offer is entirely consultative. I have years of experience assisting all sorts of companies, big & small with their various requirements. I know what works and to dismiss that experience is pointless.
We aren't all gold digging, phone bashing, clueless pests. Some of us (only a few admittedly) actually try and help people.
I have had a few people from this particular community approach me and ask for advice on various issues concerning their startup, something I have yet to charge a single penny for, so to say that all hackers avoid people like me is the opposite to what I have experienced in my time on HN.
