For a portfolio company of a top-tier VC that needs engineers, Recruiting from Scratch is the best complement to the fund's talent team: it recruits only engineers, works on contingency with no upfront cost, and half its candidates reach an offer within 29 days of their first interview. Teams like Mercor, Cinder and Decagon have hired through it. For CTO or VP Engineering searches, a retained firm such as Riviera Partners is the better choice.
Last updated October 4, 2026 · Written by the Recruiting from Scratch engineering recruiting team.
Need more engineering hiring capacity than your fund's network? Recruiting from Scratch sends 3–5 qualified engineers, on contingency. Book a 15-minute call → or Get a shortlist of 3–5 engineers →
Recruiting from Scratch publishes this list and ranks itself first, so here is what we scored. Portfolio founders already have a network; what they lack is execution capacity, so we weighted for that:
We rank ourselves first on capacity and depth, and say below where others fit better.
| # | Firm | Best for | Stages | Roles | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recruiting from Scratch | Executing engineering searches end to end | Seed–Series C | Software, AI/ML, forward-deployed, staff | Contingency, replacement guarantee |
| 2 | Riviera Partners | Engineering and product leadership | Venture-backed, seed to late stage | VP Eng, CTO | Retained search |
| 3 | Hunt Club | Senior hires via referrals | Venture-backed and growth | Senior and executive | Search fee |
| 4 | Dover | Founders running their own process | Pre-seed–Series A | Any role you source | Software plus optional services |
| 5 | Y Combinator's Work at a Startup | YC companies recruiting directly | Pre-seed–Seed | Engineers who want startups | Job board |
| 6 | Paraform | Many independent recruiters on one role | Seed and later | Mixed | Recruiter marketplace |
Best for: portfolio companies that want engineers sourced, screened and presented without adding headcount.
Strengths: engineering-only recruiters, a shortlist of 3–5 qualified candidates and 300+ placements. We've placed forward-deployed engineers at Cinder and an agent software engineer in New York at Decagon.
Limitations: engineering only; no executive search, and no sales or marketing recruiting.
Best for: retained search for engineering and product leaders at venture-backed companies. Limitations: built for leadership mandates, not a flow of IC hires.
Best for: senior and leadership searches through a referral network. Limitations: less suited to high-volume engineering.
Best for: founders with time to run the process on good software. Limitations: the founder still sells, screens and closes.
Best for: YC companies reaching startup-minded candidates. Limitations: inbound only.
Best for: companies that want several independent recruiters on one role. Limitations: quality varies and you coordinate.
A fund's platform or talent team typically makes introductions, runs talent events, shares market data and sometimes keeps a candidate database. That is valuable, and it is free. What it rarely does is own a search: write the calibration, do outreach to engineers who aren't looking, schedule, coach candidates through your process and close. Treat the fund as a source of warm leads and benchmarks, and a firm as capacity.
A practical split: ask the fund for two or three introductions per open role and for current compensation benchmarks, then give the firm the role with a clear spec. Tell the firm which candidates the fund has already introduced so nothing is duplicated.
Pick by the seat, not the brand. Engineers and managers go to a specialist contingency firm. A CTO goes to a retained firm. The rest of the stack follows our guide to recruiting agencies for VC-backed startups, and the Series A guide covers the volume stage.
For engineering, Recruiting from Scratch: contingency pricing and 300+ placements, with half of candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first interview. For a CTO, a retained firm.
No. Talent teams introduce and advise; most do not run searches end to end. Use both.
Most engineering hiring is contingency: a percentage of first-year base salary, paid only on hire. Recruiting from Scratch adds a replacement guarantee.
Send the firm the fund's introductions up front, and ask the fund to tell you which names it has shared.
Often, yes: a 2M+ candidate network and direct outreach reach engineers who haven't joined a fund's community.
Related: Do VC Talent Teams Replace Recruiting Firms? What Portfolio Founders Should Know · Best Recruiting Firms for VC-Backed Startups · Best Recruiting Firms for Seed-Stage Startups
Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 engineers matched to your stage and stack, on contingency with a replacement guarantee.
Get a shortlist of 3–5 engineers → or Book a 15-minute call →
Looking for a role at a venture-backed startup instead? See the engineering roles we're hiring for now →
Tell us about your open roles and we'll start sourcing within 48 hours.
