Draft.Me: The Tech Scene Learns About Talent Scouting From The NFL

We have witnessed the exponential growth of the tech scene- if it can even be called a scene anymore, seeing that technology has become interwoven with every aspect of our existence and every business domain. This, of course, means that we need great technical talent just about anywhere, and finding it is proving to be a bit of a challenge.

Startups and great big corporations alike often hit a wall when looking for new recruits, and have a really hard time finding the people they need in their tech ranks. The people these companies need are somewhere out there- but connecting the two seems to be the trouble.

There is an apparent need for a change in the hiring model, and a San-Francisco based angel company SV Angel and its new startup People.co are set to disrupt the olden drafting ways. Their plan is pretty simple- they will scout for talent the way sports scouts do.

Scouting Like…Scouts?

Their new initiative Draft.Me is taking the model of NFL Combine– an annual week-long showcase where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general managers, and scouts, and the latter have an opportunity to pen down their interests for the NFL Draft.

While developers and other techies may not be performing bench presses, 40-yard dashes or the 20-yard shuttle, Draft.Me will put their skills to test with hackathons, coding quizzes and competitions.

The idea behind Draft.Me is apparently to very phisically bring big companies, stratups and technical talent in one place, at the same time, so the latter could show what they know and the former could find what they need- and it just might work.

The first tech draft will take place on June 31 and July 1 in San Francisco (no surprise there) and you can sign up for it at the Draft.Me webpage.