Hiring isn't an easy button.
You can't afford to bet your runway on someone who says it is.
With Paraform, you get a network of recruiters. With Elly, you get a dedicated recruiting team that understands your company, your stage, and the person you're trying to hire — and knows how to sell them on the opportunity.
28 days
Series A | Travel tech
34 days
Seed stage | HR tech
42 days
Early stage | Travel tech
<24 days
Series A | Experiences tech
Paraform vs. Elly
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Paraform's marketplace of recruiters doesn't have what you need.
You don't need more recruiters competing to send you candidates. You need a team that understands your company, knows what great looks like, and knows how to sell the opportunity to the people you actually want to hire. Because finding someone is only half the job.
"Good luck getting paired with the right recruiter... Who goes to the candidate market on your behalf does matter."
“Paraform is a huge waste of time…dozens of companies I’ve worked with have used them citing the time wasted and having cut them.”
“Paraform has always been filled with the bottom of the barrel. There is zero vetting for a ‘recruiter’ to join.”
Domain expertise isn't enough. Your founding team needs thrive in early stage.
Operate without a playbook
Early stage is all about constant experimentation and building the function from scratch.
Wear a lot of different hats
At an early stage, you have to take on problems that weren't in the job description.
Actually want to take the risk
Not everybody wants the risk of an early stage startup. Your best employees look for it.
Roles we’ve hired for
Engineering & AI
Why these searches are hard
Everyone's résumé says AI now. Tutorial projects read like production experience, and the best builders often have the thinnest résumés.
What Elly screens for
Shipped products and real users, not course certificates. Elly's scorecards weigh a live portfolio over years of experience — and for forward deployed roles, whether they can hold the room with a customer.
Go-to-Market
Why these searches are hard
Sales résumés are the most inflated in hiring. Quota claims are unverifiable on paper, and stage mismatch kills more VP hires than talent does.
What Elly screens for
Verifiable attainment and how it was earned: inbound or outbound, deal size, ramp time. For VP searches: evidence of building a team at your stage, not managing one someone else built.
Finance & Operations
Why these searches are hard
The title covers wildly different jobs. A VP of Finance who thrived at 500 people can sink at 50, and the difference doesn't show on a résumé.
What Elly screens for
Stage fit above all: systems they built versus inherited, fundraises they carried, and whether they've operated at your altitude. Elly scores for the company you are, not the logo on their last badge.
Don't leave your founding team to chance
Choose a dedicated recruiter who understands your stage and how to find the right person for the role.