I Couldn't Offer Employees the Major Perks That Tech Giants Can — Here's How I Hired the Best AI Engineers Anyway I couldn't match the glamour of Open AI or Google, but this strategy helped me find game-changing talent.

We had an exciting idea for an AI company. But we struggled to hire AI engineers.

The idea was this: We can use AI to help prevent chronic health conditions like diabetes. My cofounder and I developed a company called January AI, raised money from investors, and posted AI engineering jobs. But the candidates we saw were uninspired. They were more interested in the likes of OpenAI, where they could work on flashy tools with broad appeal, and not applications like health.

This problem is common among smaller businesses: Everyone competes for talent against industry behemoths, who can offer the kind of glamour and benefits that we cannot. That means we must get creative, offering things that our larger competitors cannot.

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In my case, we found a powerful offer — and it helped us recruit a talented, passionate team. The offer was this: Come work on something that's personally meaningful to you. Although we paid well, the right candidates needed to see more than salary and benefits; they needed to see the lives and stories that their work could impact.

Most engineers are young and healthy, and haven't experienced the impact of chronic health issues. To them, health can feel niche, and maybe even boring. I realized that I needed to stop chasing those people and instead start looking for engineers that personally connected with our mission.

How did I do that? It started with aggressive referrals. I tapped into my network, reaching out to trade groups, venture capital friends, and industry contacts. I spent hours on LinkedIn each day, searching for people who might be a fit. I also attended conferences and reached out to universities, seeking out individuals who were passionate about both AI and healthcare. Through this network-building approach, I was able to attract talented employees who were already aligned with the mission, or at least open to it.

During the interview process, I'd ask candidates if they were familiar with the issues surrounding chronic health conditions. Some would volunteer stories of being impacted personally, or of watching loved ones suffer. After each interview, I'd write my thoughts down in a journal — and although this sounds inefficient, I found it to be critical. The act of writing by hand forced me to slow down and be more intentional about the information I was capturing. Unlike a spreadsheet, which allows for unlimited entries and can become a cluttered list of facts, a journal has limits. You can only write down what stands out to you in the moment — what's truly important. This way, I was able to reflect deeply on each candidate's story, their passion, and their alignment with our mission.

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After interviewing a series of candidates, I'd revisit my journal entries. I could quickly identify candidates who were both technically skilled and also shared our personal passion and mission. Those were the ones we offered positions to.

The results have been validating: The people we hired through this process are genuinely passionate about the work, and they ended up being the most engaged employees. They're the ones who help us innovate and grow. To them, just like to my cofounder and I, this is about more than just a paycheck. Our first technical hire was a cancer survivor and our second had a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology — both super relevant for our work.

Hiring isn't easy. If you're doing it right, it's a long, slow, tedious process. Many candidates will overlook you, and will choose bigger, flashier competitors who can offer them things that you cannot. But I am confident in saying this: You can offer things that those competitors can't. You can offer a sense of purpose and personal fulfillment. Find the people who don't just want to work for your company; find the people who come to make a real, lasting impact alongside you. That's when meaningful breakthroughs happen.

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