How to find engineering talent for early startup?

Question

Does anyone have advice on finding engineering talent for early start-ups on a contract basis?I'm not looking for a co-founder at this point, i'd rather get the product to a predetermined point.I know of sites like UpWork and toptal, but i'm wondering if this great community has any advice.

david927 · Accepted Answer

UpWorkBut caveat emptor. The reason people have technical co-founders isn't because they hate having equity in their soon-to-be-unicorn startup; it's because if you're not technical to know exactly what to ask for, how to evaluate it and what is rational in terms of hours/rate, you stand a good chance of losing a lot of money and getting very, very little in return.

Doctor-R · Answer

Move to San Francisco, or Silicon Valley and start networking: subscribe to techstars silicon valley sf bay area newsletter.
Triplebyte had online tests and phone interviews, now owned by Karat.com
Put a notification in the monthly 'whos hiring' thread on HN.
Put a posting on LinkedIn, Indeed, SimplyHired, Glassdoor, Dice, etc.
If your concept has any tech, you need a technical co founder to get it right. VCs will be interested in the tech experience of the founding team.

aaronrobinson · Answer

Are you technical enough to validate their work and to maintain it when they leave? If not then spend the money hiring a technical co-founder.