Usually not. A VC talent or platform team helps portfolio companies with introductions, candidate referrals, hiring advice and sometimes job boards, but it rarely runs a search end to end for each company. Founders typically pair the fund's network with a specialist such as Recruiting from Scratch, which sources, screens and sends a shortlist of 3–5 engineers on contingency, with half its candidates reaching an offer within 29 days of a first interview.
Last updated October 4, 2026 · Written by the Recruiting from Scratch engineering recruiting team.
Need someone to run the search after your fund's introductions? Recruiting from Scratch sends 3–5 qualified engineers, on contingency. Book a 15-minute call → or Get a shortlist of 3–5 engineers →
Funds organize their platform teams differently, so we do not compare named funds. We judge what a talent team can do against what a recruiting firm does on five criteria:
Recruiting from Scratch is a recruiting firm and has an interest in this answer. We try to say what a talent team does well, because for many founders it is genuinely valuable.
| Question | VC talent / platform team | Specialist recruiting firm | Best fit | Typical cost to you | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs the search? | You do, with help | The firm | Firm for end-to-end | Talent team: usually none; firm: contingency | Talent teams share time across companies |
| What do you get? | Introductions, referrals, advice, job boards | Sourced, screened shortlist | Both together | See above | Referrals are limited to the fund's network |
| How deep on engineering? | Varies by team | Engineering-only if specialist | Firm for niche stacks | See above | A generalist may not know your stack |
| How fast to start? | Depends on queue | Days | Firm for urgency | See above | Queues at busy platform teams |
| Accountable for outcome? | Advisory | Contractual | Firm | See above | Advisory help has no guarantee |
A fund's talent or platform team knows the portfolio and the people around it. It can introduce you to candidates the fund has met, review your job descriptions, share comp benchmarks and connect you with other founders who solved the same problem. The funding itself also helps: candidates trust a company with a credible investor. For a pre-seed or seed company this is worth using in full before spending anything.
Our page on recruiting for Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies shows how founders in one large portfolio think about the split.
None of this is a criticism. It is the difference between a network and a service, and founders do best using both.
Use the fund first and the firm for what remains.
Many founders ask their investors for firm recommendations as well. A good talent team will give a short list rather than a single name, and will tell you honestly which of its portfolio companies used which firm and why.
Mercor, Cinder and Decagon are examples of venture-backed teams that hired through Recruiting from Scratch while also having investor networks. We placed forward-deployed engineers at Cinder, backend and machine-learning engineers at Mercor, and an agent software engineer in New York at Decagon. The split we recommend is the same for any portfolio company: investors help with credibility and introductions, and a firm takes on the sourcing and screening.
No. They add introductions, advice and credibility, but rarely run a search end to end, so founders usually combine the two.
Typically introductions, referrals, job descriptions and compensation advice, community events and sometimes shared job boards. Scope varies by fund.
Yes. Investors often have candidate leads, and the firm should know about them so the same person is not submitted twice.
Agree this in writing at the start. Typically referred candidates are excluded from fees, but terms vary by contract.
On contingency: no retainer or upfront cost, a percentage of first-year base salary paid on hire, and a replacement guarantee.
Related: Best Recruiting Firms for VC Portfolio Companies · Best Recruiting Firms for VC-Backed Startups · How Many Recruiting Firms Should a Startup Use at Once?
Recruiting from Scratch sends a shortlist of 3–5 engineers who fit your stage, stack and budget, 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 →
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