How Elly’s AI Interviewer helped Nat Disston at Atomic move faster and hire better in high-volume searches

The Problem

Atomic, a venture studio known for launching companies from zero to one, hires across a wide variety of roles. Nat Disston, an Operating Partner who leads the incubation team, participates in interview panels for both early and later-stage companies. His work spans sourcing co-founders, evaluating technical talent, and supporting teams through their earliest hires.

Some roles create significantly more operational pressure than others. Early technical internships, in particular, generate extremely high applicant volume. In a previous cycle, Nat’s team received more than 1,000 applications in a single weekend, making it difficult to separate strong candidates from the noise.

“The biggest challenges are volume and noise. You are trying to figure out who is real, who is actually excited about the role, and who is worth spending time on.”

Nat typically stepped into the process after a recruiter screen, relying on summarized notes instead of hearing candidates directly. This limited his ability to assess communication skills, motivation, and nuance. It also required recruiters to schedule and conduct dozens of introductory calls.

The result was a slow and time-consuming early funnel that strained hiring velocity and recruiter capacity.

The Solution

When Nat kicked off a new search for two computer science interns, Elly’s AI Interviewer launched at the perfect moment. Instead of scheduling 20 or more intro screens, Atomic’s Director of Technical Recruiting, Eddie, sent each candidate a personalized Elly screener link.

Candidates completed a 15-minute async interview that captured their answers, tone, clarity, and enthusiasm. Elly then provided a structured written summary with the full recording, allowing Nat to review answers quickly and listen to any moments he wanted more context on.

Submissions came in almost immediately.

“We had candidates submit screeners the same day we sent them. I did not have to schedule anything. I could open Elly, read the summary, watch a few clips, and immediately get a feel for who was worth moving forward.”

The new workflow gave Nat visibility he never had before a live call.

“It felt like I was actually in the room for the recruiter screen,” he said. “That is a huge upgrade compared to just reading notes.”

The screener also created a natural filter. Only candidates with real interest and intention took the time to complete it.

“The tool screens out fake applications or people who are not really interested,” Nat shared. “It helps bubble up the candidates who are actually worth looking at.”

For Eddie, the time savings were substantial.

“He normally would have taken 20 intro calls. This time he took zero. It probably saved him five to ten hours of calls plus the time he did not have to take to schedule those meetings. He focused on sourcing and running a fast and thorough process instead.”

Across the board, the async format replaced manual scheduling with faster, clearer, and more consistent early evaluation.

The Results

Elly fundamentally changed the pace and quality of Atomic’s early funnel. Nat could quickly understand each candidate’s communication style, clarity of thought, and enthusiasm for the work before a live conversation. This allowed him to move high-potential candidates forward faster and avoid time spent on lukewarm or low-fit applicants.

The screener also surfaced candidates who might have been overlooked. Some resumes that looked strong did not translate into compelling answers. Others who appeared average on paper emerged as thoughtful and highly engaged.

“One of the people we hired would not have been the top pick based on resume alone. After hearing him talk in the screener, it was clear he was way more interesting and relevant than what the resume showed.”

Candidates responded positively as well. Many appreciated being able to jump into the process fast and tell their story directly to the hiring team. Although the format was new for some, the overall feedback was strong.

“Most candidates said it was easy and straightforward. It flowed well,” Nat said. “And these are college students who are used to technology, so it did not feel weird to any of them.”

Nat believes Elly is most valuable for roles with high inbound volume or for teams that want more consistency at the top of the funnel. For organizations unsure about adopting async interviews immediately, he offered simple guidance.

“One way to test it is to use it after a recruiter call. You can say I loved our conversation and would like you to complete this so you can tell your story to the broader team. It gives everyone a chance to see the product in action without worrying about losing candidates.”

Overall, Elly gave Atomic faster insight into candidate quality, clearer insight into candidates, time back for the recruiting team, and a more informed starting point for every follow-up interview.

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