Two-Path Talent Sourcing (Network + Data)
Find the companies best at the skill you're hiring for, then find the best person there - via referral chains or via public performance data.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 85%
To hire a specialist, first identify the companies that are demonstrably best at that function (ideally one to two growth stages ahead of you), then find the strongest person there. Batchu runs this two ways: a network search that snowballs referrals ('who's the best X you know, and who do they know?'), and a data-driven search using public signals like SimilarWeb channel traffic to reverse-engineer which companies are actually excellent at a given channel.
Origin
Batchu credits the network-search approach to publicly-shared advice from 'Google' (likely a well-known operator he references on Twitter); the data-driven SimilarWeb approach is his own successfully-used method.
Core principles
- 01Find the best companies at the skill first, then the best person there
- 02Target companies one to two growth stages ahead of you
- 03Network search snowballs referrals into a ranked map of the best teams
- 04Data-driven search uses public performance signals when you lack the network
- 05Public channel data reveals which companies are genuinely good at a channel
How to run it
- 1
Define the role and the target-company profile
Decide the function you're hiring for and target companies one to two stages of growth beyond you that have a reputation for craft in that field.
Pro tip Companies one-to-two stages ahead have seen your stage and beyond, so their operators can operate at your scale and the next one.
- 2
Path A - snowball network search
Ask your network who the best person in that function is, get introduced, then ask each of them who the best people they know are, building a ranked map of the best teams and why.
Pro tip Aim for a target list of 20-30 people; if you can't land the top ones, work down the ranked list.
Watch out Works best if you or your network are already well connected in that field.
- 3
Path B - data-driven identification
When you lack the network, use public data to find companies excelling at the channel. For a CRM/email hire, look up on SimilarWeb what percentage of traffic each target company gets via email, then source from the teams that are demonstrably effective.
Pro tip This is underused precisely because it doesn't occur to people, even though the data is public and intuitive.
In the wild
For a CRM/email marketing hire, Batchu takes his list of respected companies one or two stages ahead, checks on SimilarWeb which of them drive the highest share of web/app traffic via email, and then sources candidates from those specific teams.
→ A shortlist of people who work at companies provably good at the exact skill being hired for, without relying on personal network.
Common mistakes
Hiring from companies you can't verify are good at the skill
A strong general brand doesn't mean a company is excellent at the specific function; verify with referral chains or public channel data before targeting their people.
Relying only on network when you aren't well connected
The referral snowball only works if you or your network are well connected in that field; without that, you need the data-driven path or you'll miss the best teams.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and leaders hiring a specialist function where they need the best operator, not just a warm body
Not ideal for
Generalist or junior hires where craft-specific benchmarking of source companies is overkill
From the transcript
“a very thoughtful and tactical Network search where like let's say you're hiring for a head of SEO you go ask your network of who…”
“you can actually look up on similar web like what percentage of traffic shows up via email to companies websites”
“you typically want to limit it to companies that are one to two stages of growth uh after you”
From the episode
Lessons from scaling Ramp
Sri Batchu (Ramp, Instacart, Opendoor)