Recruiting for an IOT Startup

1. Bill McCabe
SoftNet Search Partners
February 3, 2016

4. How will you recruit
them?
•I am a recruiter 4
the IOT
•Start ups require a
specific set of
steps
•Today we will go
over some specific
steps
•I am a volunteer
resource to you

5. “The hardest part of growing a blossoming
startup beyond infancy is recruiting talent.
The right team can take your venture to new
heights whereas the wrong one can push it
off a cliff.”
– Scott Gerber, founder,TheYoung Entrepreneur Council

6. 1. Hiring is the most important thing
2. Always be recruiting
3. Do not do what everyone else does
4. Get creative – promote brand/contests/etc
5. Use your network extensively
6. Work on your value proposition – why someone would come to
work here – culture
7. Get the word out – social media, video, blog, website, events,
networking
8. Carefully plan the candidate experience/ think outside of the
box/ followup/
9. Determine criteria for a “Good fit”
10. Involve various people in company for company culture
11.
– JeffWaldman, Head ofTalent/ Security Compass

7. Identify skill sets
Create “hiring
matrix”
Five step
recruitment
process for IOT
Start Ups

8.  Product Development/R&D
 Enterprise-wide IT project management
experience
 Sales and Marketing Automation/Cloud
 Big Data Management/Analytics
 Data Security/Governance
 Compliance/Regulatory
 MBA-level business knowledge
 PhD or Masters- level knowledge in “new
school” biz IT
 Leadership/Teambuilding

9. CEO/Director of IT
Product/R&D
Infrastructure-
includes
fulfillment/delivery
Internal/External
infrastructure
Digital Innovation
Team- cross
functional
Sales/Marketing
/Partners
Security/
Governance/
Compliance

10.  Resources for building your upper
management bench – CIO/CFO/CTO/CEO
 No such thing as a “non-IT” hire for these
positions in IOT Start Ups
 What your investors/partners want to see
 Fortune 500 creds – even if you can only afford
middle-to-upper managers as placements-YOU
can be their promotion to C Suite
 Small to medium business (SMB)
leadership/success

11. Functional IT
Product Level –support
and storage
Infrastructure
Product support
External IT
(Sales and
Marketing)
Big data analysis
Marketing automation
Channel/Partner/Market
Outreach support
Innovations IT
Product level
Business model
CIO-level
New business
opportunities

12. Recruitment-
5 steps
Build your
matrix
Hit up your
network
Use social media
Buy or create
“plug and play”
HR process (with
documents) – see
three minimal
slides later
Create “flywheel
recruitment”

13. Employee Offer Letters
The primary purpose of an offer letter is to ensure that the employee and the employer are on
the same page about the position the employee has been offered and the responsibilities
and benefits that come with it.
One common area of confusion is whether you should use an offer letter or an employment
agreement. The key differences are that employment agreements tend to be much more
detailed and are used when hiring an employee for a set period of time. In practice,
employment agreements are typically only used with CEOs or other high-level executives.
Here's a list of the key topics covered by a good one:
- the position the employee is being hired for, including a description of his/her duties;
- the employee's salary, bonuses (if applicable), and a brief description of the benefits
he/she will be eligible for;
- if the employee is receiving equity, some basic information about the grant, including the
number of shares and the vesting terms;
- a reference to the NDA and Assignment of Invention the employee will be required to
sign (more on this below);
- a reference to the Form I-9 the employee will have to fill out to verify his/her eligibility to
work in the U.S.;
- a provision that makes clear that the employer-employee relationship will be at-will,
which means that either the employer or employee can terminate the relationship at any
time and for any reason; and
- other general contractual language. –www.legalhero.com

14. Non disclosure
NDA and Assignment of
Invention
NDA stands for non-
disclosure agreement and
refers to a restriction on the
employee's ability to
disclose sensitive
information about the
employer during or after
his/her employment with
the company.
The NDA and Assignment of
Invention also typically
includes non-solicit and
non-compete provisions.
- Legal Hero.com

15. Stock Option Grant
If the employee is receiving equity in the
company, then, along with the offer letter and
NDA andAssignment of Invention, you should also present him or
her with a stock option grant (or the equivalent document if you're
issuing restricted stock).The grant will detail the key terms of the
stock options being provided to the employee, including:
- the number of shares;
- the exercise price;
- the expiration date;
- the vesting schedule and start date;
- the procedures the employee must follow in order to exercise
the options; and
- what happens to the options if the employee leaves the
company

17. 1. Linkedin
OptimizeYour personal profile – use contact information and a clear CTA
Company Page - promote company/ create brand
LinkedinGroups – join and be active
Linkedin Pulse – Publish updates/ articles of Interest to your target market

18. 2.Twitter
Optimize your twitter profile/ add interests etc.
Research and follow key people in your area.
Tweet/promote your brand and share updates

19. 3. Google+
Optimize your profile/
Company Page / share updates and promote brand
Join communities/ share information

20. 5. Personal Website
Mobile Friendly/ list open positions/
 Keep your openings page up to date
 Have a clear CTA and easy apply button

21. 1. Achieve Expert Status
Use social media to help build a strong brand and then let the top talent come to you.The ideal situation is to
have others wanting to work with you, whatever the conditions, so by simply being great at what you do
and building your brand around that, you shouldn't have any trouble drawing in top talent (then make
them happy they contacted you!).
—ColinWright, Exile Lifestyle
2.Tweet with Hashtags
When promoting any new openings at your startup, tweet out with special hashtags for #hiring,
#startupjobs and whatever industry or trade you're hiring from to get the attention of the right
candidates.
—DannyWong, Blank Label Group, Inc.
3.Twitter IsYour Best Friend
Scout for startup talent usingTwitter search with hashtags and terms relevant to your industry. Compile a list
of potential candidates and evaluate theirTwitter activity by looking at their number of followers as well
as the quality of their tweets. Use Follower Wonk's "Compare whom they follow" to compare candidates
with industry leaders and look at shared connections and "Wonk Score".
—Andrew Saladino, RTA Kitchen Cabinets
4. Pick the FolksYouWant
When you're still early in the startup process, you have to make sure that you've got the right team.That
means knowing as much as possible before even suggesting that you're looking ... social media makes it
easy to find out all sorts of [information].
—Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

22. 5. Have a Contest
Choose an important trait you're looking for and host a contest via social media. Get creative with
submissions and guidelines. Share the contest with influencers and hubs and invite them to send talent
your way.
—Lisa Nicole Bell, Inspired Life Media Group
6. Get a Referral
Referrals are the lifeblood of many a business. It works the same when it comes to recruitment via social
media. Ask yourTwitter, Facebook and LinkedIn contacts for solid leads for the new position in your
company. By having someone come pre-qualified, you end up with (usually) a better candidate and
someone whom you can trust.
—Erin Blaskie, BSETC
7. Listen, Converse and Engage
Besides LinkedIn being amazing for recruiting startup talent, I’d say monitoring job trends onTwitter and
keeping your job board updated is also a great pull strategy. If you have a current job board and are
sending your opportunities through your social media channels, then your message will be heard and re-
posted in all the right areas.
Ryan Holmes, HootSuite
8.YouTubeYourVision
You have to get people to believe in your story. Especially when you're in startup mode. So record a short
video where you describe your vision, progress and motivations. Help prospective talent connect with
your deeper story. What's the next chapter they can help to create? Share that video across social media.
—Michael Margolis, Get Storied

23. Incubator
• Associations,VC orgs
• Market to them! Good comms, well done, personal
General
IT/Digital
Business
• Digital networking counts
• Friends of friends who work in this space
• Your recruiter connections in senior executive functions
Personal
/Profession
al
• Everywhere you have been (work, etc)
• Everyone you have ever met