The Best Startup Job Ad in the World

Arguably the best job ad in the world? Comes from Extropic in a very straightforward way.

"Yes, but Bastian, a sexy startup has no shortage of skilled specialists".

It's not a sexy ad either.

Because, curious people want to work on interesting problems - not on boring tasks that a computer could do but you refused to invest in.

And how do you spark curiosity?

By making an engaging video.

A good video has nothing to do with effects, VFX and SFX, or quick cuts that make you and your applicants feel nauseated as if you've just been on a rollercoaster.

A good video needs a compelling theme.

A theme that captivates its target audience AND people who think "Oh, Charlie might be interested in this topic and they probably haven't heard of it yet so I am going to tell them about it…"

"That's an exciting topic!", even I thought to myself, who understands nothing of what the founders are discussing. Even though we were once invited by the researchers at Fraunhofer IAF to find out first-hand how research is being conducted at the bleeding-edge of III-V semiconductors. So yes, I may know a bit more about semiconductors than the average person on the interwebs. But I didn't study physics, computer science nor electrical engineering.

“A good video is all about an interesting topic told well and without cliches,” as Niko likes to say.

How do you make a great video?

IMHO: The easiest way is to simply explain it.

Explain it to an interested layperson.

Just like Guillaume Verdon and Trevor McCourt explain it to Garry Tan. Garry is asking these questions that we’d like to ask Guillaume and Trevor ourselves. And questions that the right applicant might be able to ask them very soon themselves.

The entire video leads with “what ground-breaking thing is going on here?”

Not the fact that they're going from stealth startup to launch.

Not the fact that Verdon’s anonymous X account had been "doxed" by the New York Times.

But the fact that they were able to keep my attention for 10 minutes, despite it quickly became clear that it was a recruitment video, makes it... arguably the best job ad in the world.

Last week I talked about the best product demo in the world.

This week I talked about the best job ad in the world.

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