Co-Founder, Investor, tech recruiter, former college athlete, and most importantly wannabe foodie. In the arena finding top engineers for VC backed startups.
Venice, California
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Behind every successful startup, there is a team of what I call “Crack Engineers” driving innovation and growth.
But how do you find the right ones and harness their full potential?
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Every world-class founder I’ve worked with at Coastal has this one thing in common:
An elite mindset.
Success in business isn’t just about having a great idea or product.
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Founders need to scale fast to win.
You need to find a winning team—without burning out.
It’s all about finding the best people —> FAST.
Here are the 5 reasons an experienced recruiter is your shortcut to success:
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Founders and VCs can learn a lot from elite athletes. Hear me out — Peyton Manning set clear goals and relentlessly pursued them, you need a sharp focus on your vision.
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Builders build. Period. While everyone else is stuck waiting for the “right moment” or obsessing over every little detail, builders dive in and get things done.
Really, that’s the startup way of life.
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A quick baseball analogy for you — no one player can play ALL positions on the field.
No matter how much they want to. The best baseball teams are just that, a TEAM.
Letting players be specialists is a must, and it’s the same for VC partners looking to scale fast.
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My father started his business from nothing 39 years ago and grew it to over 25 employees. Longevity doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built on hard work, consistency, and treating people right.
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Playing college baseball taught me one thing—success is earned, not given. Every day, I had to show up, put in the work, and push beyond my limits.
Those are the days that compound.
Business is exactly the same:
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Recruiting for an early-stage startup can be like trying to sell a new car without tires—"Trust me, it’ll be great once we get more funding… we don’t have PMF yet but it’s on the way"
You’re pitching big visions and future growth.
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Mastering mindset will set you apart:
#1) Stop Thinking Small
#2) Get Obsessed with Value
#3) Outwork Everyone
#4) Hire Killers
#5) Create Systems, Not Chaos
#6) Detach from Your Ego
#7) Be Relentless
And win!
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#2) Get Obsessed with Value:
Deliver 10x the value people pay for.
If your product doesn’t solve massive problems, customers will leave.
Find 1 key pain point, solve it better than anyone else.
Add premium features that directly address your users' biggest frustrations.
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#7) Be Relentless:
Relentless execution beats occasional effort.
The moment you slow down, competitors catch up.
Set bold quarterly goals and keep pushing.
Break revenue targets into weekly actions and execute with urgency until you surpass them.
Never settle.
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#4) Hire Killers:
Average hires = average results. You need driven people who hate losing more than they love winning.
Recruit top-tier talent and incentivize them to overdeliver.
Hire a sales lead who’s grown businesses by 2x and reward their success.
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#3) Outwork Everyone:
Momentum beats balance in early growth.
While your competition rests, you push forward. Focus on one high-impact task each day.
If your competitors spend 8 hours on marketing, spend 12.
Use weekends and early mornings to get ahead.
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#1) Stop Thinking Small:
Start thinking like a billion-dollar company now.
If you limit your decisions to your current size, you'll stay small.
Push your vision further—ask, "Will this scale?"
When investing in tools, choose ones that can handle 10x growth.
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When you start a venture, you can’t know all the issues that you’re going to run into; just not possible.
That’s why prioritizing forward momentum, iteration, and learning is the best way to go.
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#6) Detach from Your Ego:
Stop micromanaging.
Your company can’t grow if you do everything yourself.
Delegate and empower your team to lead.
If you’ve been the main point of contact for clients, train your team to take over, freeing you to focus on strategy.
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Startup life is so much like this for founders.
Top performers trying to do what no one else is doing.
The unspoken piece of these athletes is this — they had a team of A-players surrounding them (hint: we can help you find A-players for your tech startup).
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Thank you for reading.
If you got value from this please repost to share with others.
Follow me for more content on building a business, and team that scales.
Please reach out if you want to learn more about how we can help your company or help you personally.
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Here’s everything you need to know about finding and maximizing the impact of your first key engineer hires:
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Time is a founder’s most valuable resource, and handling recruitment tasks takes time away from strategic growth.
Recruiters provide pre-vetted candidates so you can focus on scaling your business.
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They’re relentless.
When others slow down, cracked engineers push harder.
Set them up with challenging tasks, and they’ll grind through setbacks, ensuring the project gets done, no matter what it takes.
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Thank you for reading.
If you got value from this please repost to share with others.
Follow me for more content on building a business, and team that scales.
Please reach out if you want to learn more about how we can help your company or help you personally.
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This is one of the biggest reasons I LOVE working with VC partners and engineers (we’ve worked with hundreds at this point).
They know that momentum creates opportunity.
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Cracked engineers are more than just top talent—they’re the game-changers who push boundaries, innovate under pressure, and drive startups to new heights.
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Cracked engineers are elite, mission-driven problem solvers who thrive under pressure, push boundaries, and relentlessly innovate to drive a company’s success.
They are the lifeblood of a startup.
Here’s how to hire them, and how to set them up for success 👇
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Hiring the wrong fit costs time and money.
Elite recruiters send you 3-5 candidates who meet your specific cultural and technical needs, so you can move quickly without wasting time on unqualified hires.
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Derek Jeter continuously improved and adapted his game, and got better with time. Successful founders do the same.
Why do we even like athletics? It’s because we love the thrill of seeing top performers mastering their craft, and contending with challenge.
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Elite recruiters know where to find these hidden gems.
Partner with recruiters specializing in your industry to tap into exclusive talent networks and find those 1-in-100.
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They seek ownership.
Cracked engineers hate being micromanaged.
Give them full responsibility for projects, letting them take ownership from start to finish—they’ll deliver results faster with total autonomy.
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The ones who thrive are the ones who outwork everyone else when no one’s watching.
Even more, it’s the ones who love what they’re doing. That’s how you win on the field, in business, and in life.
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They push the limits.
They challenge the status quo to make breakthroughs.
Empower them to test boundaries, whether in tech, strategy, or process, and they’ll push your company toward new heights and innovation.
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#5) Speed and Efficiency:
Delays in hiring the right engineers slow your company’s momentum.
The faster you can build the right team, the quicker you’ll hit milestones and scale.
Hire smart, hire fast, and scale faster.
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Then there’s my dad, who built his business from the ground up over 39 years, growing it to over 25 employees.
His success wasn’t a fluke; it was grounded in hard work and treating people right.
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To build a company, you need an elite mindset.
But what does that look like in reality?
Here are 7 ways high-performers view themselves:
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They are mission driven.
Align them with your company’s purpose.
Ensure they understand the big picture, and they’ll put everything into driving the company forward—not just for the paycheck, but for the vision.
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Thank you for reading.
If you got value from this please repost to share with others.
Follow me for more content on building a business, and team that scales.
Please reach out if you want to learn more about how we can help your company or help you personally.
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#2) Find the 1-in-100 Talent:
The best engineers aren’t on job boards—they’re busy working or running side projects.
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#5) Create Systems, Not Chaos:
You can't scale just by working harder; you need systems that run without you.
Document and refine one key process weekly, like client onboarding, until your team can execute it without oversight.
Put in the work so you can scale in your sleep.
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I love the legacy here. What I learned from him is simple: take care of your team, and they’ll take care of the business. Success isn’t about shortcuts or hacks — it’s about showing up everyday and putting in the effort, even when it’s tough.
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They innovate constantly.
Cracked engineers aren’t content with the status quo. Encourage them to refine processes, so they can continuously improve workflows and discover better, faster ways to build and innovate.
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If you want to build something that truly lasts, it’s time to seek out the relentless, mission-driven talent who delivers real impact.
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Elite recruiters help you avoid costly mistakes by finding candidates who fit your company’s needs and culture.
We set clear hiring goals to ensure each new hire brings value and contributes to long-term success.
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They think differently.
Cracked engineers spot unique solutions. Assymetric bets.
Give them the freedom to tackle tough problems with creativity and watch them devise innovative approaches that no one else thought of.
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He taught me that building something lasting means staying committed through the highs and lows.
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Happy Pocket Full of Money ... Buy it today, i've read most of the books in the comments and this far and away has had the greatest influence in me - read it 18 months ago, and everything has changed in my life since then. amazon.com/Happy-Pocket-Mone…
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To scale fast and succeed, leaders need to focus on growth, not recruitment.
A great recruiter finds talent that drives your company forward, hitting milestones faster.
Great hires build great companies—don’t leave growth to chance. Outpace the competition.
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