Brian Nichols is the co-founder of Angel Squad, a community where you’ll learn how to angel invest and get a chance to invest as little as $1k into Hustle Fund's top performing early-stage startups

Recruiting is the one thing almost every founder asks for help with. And it's the one thing most angels do poorly.

The typical pattern is the founder says "we're hiring a head of sales." Angel says "let me think about who I know" and then... crickets. Or worse, they make a vague LinkedIn introduction to someone they haven't talked to in five years. That intro goes nowhere and now everyone has wasted time.

After working with hundreds of portfolio companies at Hustle Fund, I've figured out what actually works for helping founders hire. Most of it is not what you'd expect.

Why Investor Intros Usually Suck

The problem with most investor hiring help is it's transactional. You're asking someone to change jobs based on a LinkedIn message from a mutual acquaintance. That almost never works unless the person is already looking.

Good recruiting is relational. You need to know the person well enough to understand what they want from their career. You need to have built enough trust that when you say "you should talk to this founder," they actually take the meeting.

Most angels haven't done that work. They have a large LinkedIn network but not actual relationships. When they make an intro, the candidate can tell it's a shot in the dark. They might take the call out of politeness, but they're not seriously considering the opportunity.

The other issue is angels often don't know what the founder actually needs. "We need a head of sales" could mean a lot of things. Do they need someone who can build a team from scratch? Someone who's great at closing enterprise deals? Someone with experience in their specific industry?

If you don't know what they need, you can't make a good introduction. You'll just send random sales people their way and waste everyone's time.

The Types of Intros That Actually Work

The best hiring help I've seen comes in three forms.

First: warm introductions to people who are actively looking. This sounds obvious but most angels don't keep track of who in their network is job searching. I do. I have a running list of talented operators I know who are open to opportunities. When a founder needs someone, I check that list first.

This works because the candidate is already receptive. You're not interrupting their career. You're connecting them with an opportunity they actually want.

Second: introductions to advisors who can later become employees. One of my founders needed a head of marketing but couldn't afford senior talent yet. I introduced them to a former CMO who was between jobs and willing to advise for equity. Six months later, when they raised their Series A, she joined full-time.

This works because it gives both sides time to evaluate fit before making a big commitment. The founder gets expertise immediately. The advisor gets to see if the company is real. If it works out, they already have context and relationships when they join.

Third: introductions to people who can make more introductions. I can't know every salesperson in every industry. But I know people who do. When a founder needs specialized talent, I connect them with someone who has a deep network in that domain.

For example, we had a portfolio company building tools for design teams. I didn't know many design leaders. But I knew someone from Stripe who had moved to Anthropic and knew the entire design community in SF. One intro to them led to five strong candidates.

How to Actually Build a Talent Network

You can't help with hiring if you don't know anyone. Building a talent network requires consistent effort over years.

It has to be systematic. Keep a spreadsheet. Track who you met, what they're working on, what they're looking for. Follow up every six months just to check in. Most people don't do this because it feels like work. It is work. It's also how you become genuinely useful to your portfolio companies.

Some funds have full-time recruiters on their platform team. Firms like Andreessen Horowitz have 30-person recruiting teams. We're smaller at Hustle Fund, but we have a head of talent who works across our portfolio, helping with comp levels, hiring processes, and candidate pipelines.

The key is having someone whose job is to maintain relationships with talent. Not just make one-off intros when a founder asks.

The Hiring Help Founders Actually Want

Founders don't just want intros. They want help thinking through the role.

Should this be their first sales hire or should they hire an SDR first? Should they hire a generalist engineer or someone specialized? Should they prioritize culture fit or experience?

These are hard questions. If you've hired people before, you can actually help founders think through them. That's more valuable than any introduction.

You can also help them avoid common mistakes. Like hiring too senior too early. Or hiring for pedigree instead of fit. Or not moving fast enough when they find someone great.

I've seen founders lose incredible candidates because they wanted to interview 20 people before making a decision. Sometimes you meet someone perfect on candidate number three. If you wait to see all 20, that perfect person accepts another offer.

Helping founders understand recruiting velocity matters as much as helping them find candidates.

The Platform Team Approach

Larger funds have entire teams dedicated to portfolio support. They don't just help with recruiting. They help with comp ladders, advisor agreements, equity splits, and all the HR infrastructure stuff founders hate dealing with.

We have someone at Hustle Fund who does this. She works with portfolio companies on hiring processes, helps them structure offers, and maintains our directory of trusted advisors and consultants.

This is more scalable than partners making one-off intros. It also means founders get better support because they're working with someone who specializes in this instead of a GP who's juggling investment decisions and board meetings.

If you're an operator considering venture, platform roles are a legitimate path in. Firms need people who understand talent and can help portfolio companies hire. It's not the investing side, but it's valuable and it's a way to get exposure to startups while providing real help.

How to Make Intros Without Burning Your Network

The worst thing you can do is make too many low-quality introductions. People in your network will stop taking your calls if every intro is to some random startup they're not interested in.

I only make intros when I genuinely think there's a fit. That means I need to know both the founder and the candidate well enough to see why they'd work together.

Before making an intro, I ask the candidate: "Would you be open to talking to early-stage companies right now?" If they say no, I don't push it. I just keep them on my list for later.

I also give the candidate full context upfront. Not just "meet this founder." I explain what the company does, why I invested, what stage they're at, and what the role would involve. That way they can decide if it's worth their time before taking the call.

The best intros are mutual. Both sides are excited to meet. When I can say "the founder specifically asked to meet you because of your experience at X" and "you mentioned wanting to work on Y problems, which is exactly what they're building," the intro almost always leads somewhere productive.

When to Hire from Within Your Portfolio

One pattern I've seen work really well is hiring from other portfolio companies.

Someone joins a startup as employee number five. The company doesn't work out. But they're talented and now they're looking. I introduce them to three other portfolio companies who are hiring. One of them is a perfect fit.

Building this internal talent marketplace is one of the most underrated benefits of having a large portfolio. You're not just investing in companies. You're building an ecosystem of talented people who know and trust each other.

Want access to that ecosystem? Angel Squad connects you with other investors who have deep networks across different industries and geographies. When your portfolio company needs a hire, you can tap into what dozens of other angels know. Because the best talent help doesn't come from your network alone. It comes from combining networks with other investors who actually care about helping founders succeed.