Having launched their own startup, the Webstarted remote workforce recruiting team knows plenty about the challenges, pitfalls, and triumphs of starting a new company from scratch.
“If you work in any startup, you understand that you have to be flexible, you understand that you have to be goal-oriented, you must anticipate,” said Webstarted COO
“I have more empathy for you, as a founder of a startup, because I know how it feels to be in a startup. I know about the skills, I know about the mindset, the entrepreneur mindset—it's a mindset that we try to improve every day.”
Launched before the pandemic converted remote work into a routine operation,
Webstarted works extensively with venture capital firms; and the majority of its U.S. clients are startups taken on during any funding series. Support for startups can take shape in many ways, including advisory work.
“We are the startup for startups,” Rocio said.
One of the startup challenges Webstarted is quite familiar with is the retention of employees.
“When we started, we experienced this challenge with our developers,” Rocio said.
But now, Webstarted boasts a database of 44,000 software engineer candidates, 93 percent of whom are based in Latin America.
The company is turning to AI as it ramps up operations and is enjoying great success with its core mission of helping U.S. tech firms build out remote teams of software engineers.
Over the years, Webstarted has worked with many startups in fields including eCommerce, marketplace, fintech, environmental, Web3, and education to name a few.
Some of the projects they have accomplished include delivering a 100% IT fulfillment rate for Hodinkee, an NYC site focused on luxury watches, and placing 15 full-time engineers at Sellry, an eCommerce design and development agency.
Underscoring the startup mindset that Webstarted maintains are the firm’s services, which allow clients to focus on big-picture objectives rather than the nuts-and-bolts logistics of launching a company. These services include:
- Recruiting
- Hiring
- Administration
- Paperwork
- Screening
- NDAs
- Hardware/software
- Billing
- WebstartedHR, which allows companies, candidates, recruiters, and agencies to collaborate as they generate a structure for a client’s vision. WebstartedHR allows companies to pivot quickly, then scale up as needed.
- Webstarted Academy, a training space for junior talent and recruiters.
- Webstarted Gifts, a service layer to promote retention in companies.
And as a company that has been working in the remote staffing space since before the COVID-19 pandemic, Webstarted is well-positioned to foster a productive environment where remote teams of workers and startups achieve harmony.
“Maintaining a workforce that is 100% remote can still be a challenge for some companies,” Rocio said.
“So one thing that’s very important for us is encouraging a positive culture. Our HR services go a long way to fostering a strong company culture among employees who are working remotely.
We strongly suggest one-on-one meetings, work environment surveys, things that can be considered small actions but which can improve or maintain your remote culture.”
The Webstarted emphasis on maintaining a positive company culture, in-house and for clients, has long been a priority for founder Javier Caruso.
A strong work ethic and culture have been important to Javier since he started teaching computer programming after studying it in primary school.
Javier’s embrace of a strong company culture took root in the mid-1990s when he began developing web pages as the widespread use of the internet took hold.
After working for a range of companies, managing teams, and serving as a manager and director, Javier signed a contract with a company that allowed him to work remotely. The concept was simply unheard of at the time.
But Javier built up a resource of contacts, and colleagues began asking him if he could recommend remote software developers. He focused on the recruitment aspect of remote work full-time and in 2019 launched Webstarted.
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