Mastering DeepTech Startup Hiring

Proven Strategies and Essential Tips

Since there is no blueprint for hiring the ideal DeepTech team at the seed stage, we decided to reach out to people who have done it successfully. Greenlyte Fractional Head of People Chris Brown, and eleQtron HR and Marketing Manager Jana Gotsmann, share their make-or-break learnings from the DeepTech hiring process. Catch additional insights from Earlybird Digital West VP People Jay Harris-Theis and Earlybird VP Comms Elisheva Marcus.

🧭 Navigating DeepTech Products

An ideal team requires HR infrastructure familiar with the company, not only on a cultural level but also on a production level. The nuances of DeepTech products aren’t common knowledge, but familiarization becomes crucial when tasked with managing stakeholders and interacting with top DeepTech talent.

How can you bridge the gap between HR experts and DeepTech expertise?

Chris Brown recommends teams:

• Create space for discussions about the specific topics HR will be tackling, provide existing documentation that describes the technology, and share relevant industry people + socials discussing the technology.

Jana Gotsmann recommends teams:

• Ask the DeepTech experts from your own company to explain the technology. Additionally, HR should ask candidates what they have done in previous projects and learn to recognize parallels to understand the technologies better.

Jay Harris-Theis recommends teams:

• Double down on the non-technical aspects of the company. HR can often say a lot about the company culture, how functions work together, the general employee characteristics, career path strategy, and individual opportunities for learning. Being authentic with candidates is always the best approach.

🧲 Attracting Talent through Brand

From the communications side, DeepTech startups need to build their brand in a way that passively attracts talent. What can DeepTech startups do for their brand to attract the best in the business?

Chris Brown recommends teams:

• Leverage the reach of the founders/CEO. The more active and vocal they are, the more people they will reach when talking about the company. Meanwhile, the company should also remain active on LinkedIn with regular posts. Finally, make it easy for people to apply by having a speculative application role open all the time where people can apply when there are no obvious roles open.

For a deeper look at how such teams can communicate effectively, read a post with 10 tips by Earlybird’s VP Communications, Elisheva Marcus.

🔎 Actively Sourcing Talent

DeepTech talent might not come knocking at your door, so HR must be poised to actively search for the best candidates.

Chris Brown recommends teams:

• Tap into university networks by looking at where your existing team has come from and working with them to establish connections and gain access to the university job boards. Separately, research other local institutions to see where obvious partnerships would help broaden your reach and be open to experimenting with different approaches such as paid job boards.

Jana Gotsmann recommends teams:

• Constantly expand their networks and approach candidates directly through LinkedIn and other channels. Make use of your colleague’s networks and let them support you with internal employee search campaigns. When necessary, use specialized headhunters to support filling vacancies.

🏆 Retaining Top Talent

The most crucial element is retaining talent, knowing which additional benefits are imperative for that retention, and understanding what your employees value.

Chris Brown recommends teams:

• Establish a thorough onboarding process for new joiners. Get them settled and working on live projects as soon as possible. Tailor your level of support accordingly e.g. if someone has a family based elsewhere and the person needs to travel to be in the office, support them with travel accommodation costs and with finding suitable accommodation or school placements for their kids.

Jana Gotsmann recommends teams:

• Make sure new joiners have a forum to ask all questions and a system to give and get feedback so that any problem can become visible quickly. Additionally, introduce joiners to as many new colleagues as possible, including an onboarding buddy or mentor.

👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏽 Fostering Company Culture

For DeepTech startups with in-office culture due to hardware or production facilities, it can be challenging to hire individuals who want to work in remote models. How can HR leaders support in-office culture strategies to win new talent?

Chris Brown recommends teams:

• Experiment with different ways of bringing the team together: team lunches, after-work events, sports clubs, etc. and ensure that leaders are present and take the time to walk around the office for impromptu chats

Jana Gotsmann recommends teams:

• Utilize the attractiveness of their products and foster a positive mood — both in the office and virtually amongst colleagues that aren’t in the same location.

💫 Wrapping Up

Building an ideal DeepTech team can be approached from many angles. Remain open to trying out new strategies, and feel free to reach out to Jay via LinkedIn with any specific questions about the startup hiring process.