Tech talent is hard to find… anywhere.
You’re building something — an application, software, a new digital platform — and you realize you can’t do it alone. You need tech talent — strong tech talent. So you work the numbers, set aside a healthy salary and hire a recruiter.

For 20 years, I was one of those recruiters. I spent a decade in Raleigh and another 12 years in Charlotte. I specialized in IT and always gravitated toward startups. They were building something, and I loved helping them do it.

That hasn’t changed — even as I left my career in recruiting earlier this year to join Dualboot Partners. I still love helping companies of all sizes fill a need and solve a problem. But over the course of those 20 years, I came to realize that hiring full-time tech talent to bring in-house isn’t always the best way to do it. The process is flawed, frustrating, expensive and, many times, ineffective.

I came to realize that hiring full-time tech talent to bring in-house isn’t always the best way to do it. The process is flawed, frustrating, expensive and, many times, ineffective.

Let me tell you why…

For one, it’s a sellers’ market in North Carolina right now. In August alone, there were 23,432 open technology jobs in the state — way more jobs than there are qualified people to fill them. When resources are scarce, companies often have to compromise on qualifications or bend to the demands of a prospective hire — because, more often than not, if you find a good candidate, he or she is interviewing at five other companies just like yours.

Suddenly, the search for “great” tech talent becomes the hunt for “good enough.” And even that takes times, and money.

The average search can take anywhere from three to six months. The standard recruiting fee is 20 percent of the candidate’s salary. And once you find someone, there’s the investment onboarding, training, benefits, relocation.

Then, there’s the cost of starting the process all over again one to two years down the line, when the talent you hired leaves you for the next opportunity.

I had a front row seat to all of this, and it got me thinking: How do you increase your talent pool when talent is really scarce? How do you alleviate the frustration of hiring candidates with zero company loyalty? And above all, how do you make sure you get what you need as fast as possible, so your company can build and grow?

We clearly need to do a better job, as a country, of producing the next generation of software developers and engineers, as my colleague Todd Buelow recently pointed out. But what is the solution for right now? The companies giving North Carolina its status as a rising entrepreneurial hub can’t afford to wait.

That’s what has brought me to Dualboot Partners.

We allow companies to replace the wild card of a new hire with a highly qualified, proven team so you know what you’re getting right from the start.

We help businesses save on salaries and recruitment fees so they can invest in the product they’re building.

And we spare entrepreneurs and business leaders the time and frustration inherent in the hiring process because, let’s face it, your energy is better spent elsewhere. If down the road you find the perfect candidate we can help you transition, but I think you’ll find we’ve raised the bar.

We’re a company of entrepreneurs. We know what it takes to build a product and a business. And we’re committed to giving our clients just that.

That’s why I’m here. I’m all about solving problems, and I’m ready to get started.