Hey team,
I hope everyone's doing great this weekend 🍂.
Fall is my favorite time of year in the northeast. Growing up in New England and living in New York City for the past twelve years, this time of year always feels like a fresh start. And while this season will clearly be different from years past, I'm looking forward to the "back-to-school" season here in Brooklyn.
Today I'm providing an update on what's happening at The New Company and Huddle. In addition, we have several open contract positions for upcoming projects and a few in our network hiring full-time.
✌️Mike
Update 🚨
This past week Fred Wilson wrote about "fractional talent" and a company called Bolster. Bolster lets growth-stage companies hire part-time, contract-based executives like CFOs and board members.
We've never used the words "fractional talent" before (because internally we call it something else 😉), but the verbiage is an excellent frame for what we've created at The New Company. What Bolster is for executives, we are for builders. The New Company lets founders spin-up an expert team of builders on-demand.
The first two years of building a startup are all about the team. No matter how seasoned the co-founders, doing everything isn’t feasible with limited resources. We think founders spend too much time navigating talent marketplaces, managing freelancers who may not be experienced, attending social events, interviewing expensive agencies, and sending emails back-and-forth. The best talent is found through trusted communities. Enter Huddle (beta).
Huddle is an invite-only digital club for builders. The prerequisite to membership is that you've done a startup. We're a curated group of entrepreneurs, product people, designers, engineers, marketers, investors, and more. We let founders spin-up a plug-and-play team that gets sh*t done — investor decks, prototypes, MVPs, brands, marketing plans, etc. Founders pay for their team through a mix of cash and sweat equity, which keeps incentives aligned and costs down.
Here's the kicker — utilizing "fractional talent" gives founders a cost-effective, flexible supply to builders from companies like Airbnb and Uber that might otherwise be hard to find. Our builders love that they can help out a new startup and get paid cash and stock. And since everyone involved gets community membership, you might just meet that full-time team collaborator or your next investor.
Are you a founder that’s looking to get sh*t done? Apply for a team below.
Calling all builders 🛠
The New Company is working on several stealth startup projects and looking to add to our builder community. Builders in the Huddle community have expertise in product, design, engineering, growth, and more. We compensate builders in both cash and sweat equity in the startups we support.
Our group is highly curated, and we add to the group based on a) project demand from our startup customers, and b) overall culture fit.
Right now, we're looking for builders with the following skills:
Growth marketing - We have room to add builders to our community with expertise in data-driven marketing. Experience with the Amazon ecosystem is a plus.
Visual design - We're looking for UI designers with early-stage consumer brand-building experience. Product and UX focused designers can apply, too.
Copywriting - A few of our projects are moving from product launch to marketing, and we need one or two great copywriters to support our go-to-market team.
Companies that are hiring 👩💻
Two startups in our community hiring right now.
humhum is a platform for conscious dating. The previously in-person experience was pivoted online for obvious reasons at the start of COVID-19. I attended the first digital speed dating event and loved it. Each event includes breathing exercises and other mindful surprises. Which, as a daily meditator for the past 5 years, I enjoy. But my favorite part was the matching experience — a private survey where users pick from three options: 1) Yes, I'd date him/her/them, 2) I'm interested in connecting as friends or collaborators, and 3) That was a great experience, and I'm not interested in anything further. Context is decisive, so framing the worst-case scenario with "that was great, nice meeting you" creates a much-needed light in online dating today. If there's a double opt-in, dating matches get linked on text and friends/collaborators over email.
Huxly lets brands create interactive content over text. The company is hiring a full-stack developer with expertise in Ruby on Rail (job posting here) and a remote enterprise sales position. The founder is also looking for an advisor with deep background and strong connections in big media. You can email us for more information or reach out to the founder Elisa O'Dell directly 👉 elissa@huxly.co.