6 Ways Growing Startups Can Hire Top Talent On a Small Budget


Every entrepreneur wants to attract top talent with outstanding capabilities to grow their enterprises. But, unfortunately, the necessary resources required to draw in these types of workers aren’t always available to startups and small-sized businesses.

BlackEnterprise.com wanted to know how a startup can hire top talent on a small budget. The following answers are provided by members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

Here are 6 ways to attract the best and brightest for your business.

  1. Use Freelancing Websites. Most of the startups in the U.S. with small budgets use websites like Upwork to find top talent. You will find experienced talent with budgets ranging from $15-$50 per hour with design, programming, testing and accounting backgrounds. You can hire full-time dedicated talent or on a project-by-project basis. — Piyush Jain, SIMpalm
  2. Offer Varied Responsibilities. Money isn’t everything, and talented candidates are more likely to go the startup route for less money if it will offer them the opportunity to work on more interesting projects and have more (or just varied) responsibilities compared to what they’d be doing at your average company. At startups, you can wear a lot of hats and learn exponentially faster, which is appealing to high performers. — Alexandra Levit, Inspiration at Work
  3. Find Undervalued Talent. A small-budget startup is a lot like a small-market sports team. When you can’t afford the expensive free agents, you have to dig in and find undervalued talent. Be creative with your recruiting. Focus on potential, not experience. — Neil Thanedar, LabDoor
  4. Offer Learning Opportunities. First, be passionate about what you do and have the culture of your company reflect that. Many talented people will take a smaller salary for a better work environment. Employees will also agree to work for less if your startup has a positive social impact. If that’s not the case, offer potential hires learning opportunities they might not otherwise be exposed to. — Jake Dunlap, Skaled
  5. Offer Equity. Hiring top talent can often involve spending top dollar. Rather than emptying starting capital into a full staff of premium employees, offer critical team members economic interest in the company. If you’re worried about giving up too much of your business, keep in mind not everyone needs a significant slice of pie to be satisfied.— Nathan Hale, First American Merchant
  6. Be Strategic With Existing Resources. If budget is limited, business owners need to be strategic in recruitment efforts. It is effective to onboard a few part-time employees to see who excels within the company before investing in multiple full-time employees who may not be a good fit for the business. There is also value in making use of current employees to refer potential hires, rather than spending time and money on recruitment. — Josh York, GYMGUYZ

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