| Company | YourTribe |
|---|---|
| Role | Head of Product & Design |
| Timeline | 2-3 Months |
| Team | Design, Engineering, Ops |
Early-stage startups struggle to attract quality talent. On the surface, this looks like a compensation problem. Startups can't match MNC salaries. But that framing leads to an un-winnable game.
We hypothesised something else was happening. If salary were the only barrier, no startup would ever hire anyone good. Yet some do. What's different about them?
We interviewed two groups: early-stage founders and job seekers across experience levels.
"We lose candidates because we can't offer competitive salaries."
| Segment | Their assumption | Their hidden frustration |
|---|---|---|
| Freshers | "I need a big brand name for my first job to be safe" | End up doing low-impact work despite being skilled |
| Mid-level | "Startups are risky and underpay" | Assume risk without understanding the upside |