WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:05.050 --> 00:00:08.250 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Hey folks, and welcome to the Small Tech Podcast. 00:00:08.270 --> 00:00:12.829 I'm your host, Raph from EC, and today we have a guest on the show. 00:00:13.070 --> 00:00:17.999 He has over a decade experience in recruitment across Australia, Singapore, 00:00:18.009 --> 00:00:23.569 the UK, and Canada, runs events around AI and machine learning, as well as 00:00:23.580 --> 00:00:28.200 software and mobile development, and he is currently the CEO and principal 00:00:28.200 --> 00:00:30.889 consultant at North Technology People. 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:33.069 He is Adam Delgado. 00:00:33.120 --> 00:00:33.700 Adam! 00:00:33.925 --> 00:00:35.715 Welcome to the small tech podcast. 00:00:35.975 --> 00:00:36.265 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: man. 00:00:36.265 --> 00:00:37.045 Great to be here. 00:00:37.045 --> 00:00:37.925 Thanks for that intro. 00:00:38.105 --> 00:00:41.365 I was expecting like, man, it was a very Bruce Buffer esque. 00:00:41.365 --> 00:00:42.965 I was, uh, I was feeling the energy, man. 00:00:42.965 --> 00:00:43.585 And thanks for that. 00:00:43.585 --> 00:00:44.025 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:00:44.065 --> 00:00:44.425 Yeah. 00:00:44.445 --> 00:00:45.775 Nice to have you on the show, man. 00:00:45.785 --> 00:00:46.385 How's it going? 00:00:46.725 --> 00:00:47.405 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: not too bad. 00:00:47.414 --> 00:00:48.045 Not too bad. 00:00:48.045 --> 00:00:48.725 No complaints. 00:00:48.725 --> 00:00:50.845 Looking forward to a bit of a sunny weather. 00:00:50.845 --> 00:00:52.584 It's still pretty chilly here in Toronto. 00:00:52.585 --> 00:00:56.815 So, uh, yeah, looking forward to some spring and sun and pints on patios. 00:00:56.815 --> 00:00:57.565 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Amazing. 00:00:57.585 --> 00:00:57.895 Yeah. 00:00:57.955 --> 00:01:00.454 Pints on patios sounds great. 00:01:01.024 --> 00:01:06.084 So yeah, I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how you got 00:01:06.084 --> 00:01:09.064 into recruiting how you got into tech. 00:01:09.065 --> 00:01:09.405 Yeah. 00:01:09.415 --> 00:01:10.295 How you got here? 00:01:10.345 --> 00:01:11.175 What's the story? 00:01:11.235 --> 00:01:13.735 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: So a lot of my friends went to 00:01:13.735 --> 00:01:19.585 university after straight out of high school and I Did not. 00:01:19.795 --> 00:01:23.175 So I kind of finished high school and then thought, Hey, I'm just 00:01:23.175 --> 00:01:24.855 going to like work for a while. 00:01:25.285 --> 00:01:28.165 And I was doing a lot of telesales stuff, just cold calling. 00:01:28.175 --> 00:01:31.455 And then I went and met with a recruiter for a job and he's 00:01:31.455 --> 00:01:33.365 like, Hey, have you ever thought about a career in recruitment? 00:01:33.365 --> 00:01:34.135 I said, no. 00:01:34.185 --> 00:01:35.025 He's like, you should. 00:01:35.485 --> 00:01:36.035 I'm like, okay. 00:01:36.325 --> 00:01:39.360 And that was kind of, you know, The nudge in that direction. 00:01:39.360 --> 00:01:44.150 I, redid my CV a little and started applying for recruiter jobs. 00:01:44.150 --> 00:01:49.280 And then I was really fortunate to join a boutiques, recruitment agency in Toronto, 00:01:49.330 --> 00:01:55.310 uh, sorry, in Sydney, back in the early 2000s, Recruitment Tara was the, managing 00:01:55.310 --> 00:01:59.490 director and founder at the time, she was like old school English recruiter, 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:02.170 Greythorn, Michael Page, Ransdad. 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:05.440 She'd been at all those big shops and she taught me everything, man. 00:02:05.440 --> 00:02:06.940 Tips to tell about 360 recruitment. 00:02:06.940 --> 00:02:08.600 So that, that was kind of how I got into it. 00:02:09.535 --> 00:02:10.065 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Amazing. 00:02:10.085 --> 00:02:13.955 I'm curious, like when you first got that question, what did 00:02:13.955 --> 00:02:15.415 recruitment even mean to you? 00:02:15.515 --> 00:02:20.525 I feel like from my perspective, I don't even know what that entails. 00:02:20.525 --> 00:02:22.655 Is it mostly like reaching out to people? 00:02:22.655 --> 00:02:26.515 Do you have to have a bit of technical understanding of what the people do? 00:02:26.525 --> 00:02:27.715 Like what, how does it work? 00:02:27.820 --> 00:02:31.050 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: So like the general recruitment is like. 00:02:31.100 --> 00:02:32.040 There's two sides to it. 00:02:32.040 --> 00:02:34.900 You've got your business development, which is like sales kind of thing. 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:36.520 And then you've got your actual recruiting. 00:02:36.920 --> 00:02:39.440 And then there's a model called 360 recruitment, where 00:02:39.440 --> 00:02:41.020 it's basically end to end. 00:02:41.190 --> 00:02:45.590 I cut my teeth on 360 recruitment and basically we're a services business. 00:02:45.590 --> 00:02:49.140 So we work a lot in the tech sector across North America. 00:02:49.140 --> 00:02:54.380 So our clients are startups, pre seed, VC funded, all the way up to enterprise. 00:02:55.630 --> 00:02:57.850 So we've and they will give us a requirement. 00:02:57.860 --> 00:03:01.230 We picked up a role today, very fortunate, with a shout out to 00:03:01.300 --> 00:03:03.570 Maple Finance, a big DeFi player. 00:03:03.980 --> 00:03:08.950 And basically they said that, hey, we need a VP of capital markets. 00:03:09.670 --> 00:03:13.270 So we've got the spec now, we've signed terms with them, so now we're helping 00:03:13.270 --> 00:03:16.390 them go and recruit for this type of role. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.550 Fortunately, we've done this type of recruitment before, so we've already got 00:03:19.550 --> 00:03:21.440 a network of candidates and that's really. 00:03:21.735 --> 00:03:26.925 Where a recruiter really earns their medal is having a network of people that our 00:03:26.925 --> 00:03:28.615 clients might not be able to tap into. 00:03:29.650 --> 00:03:30.830 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah, that makes sense. 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:35.270 And when you first got into this, was it also tech? 00:03:35.295 --> 00:03:37.755 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: Yeah, yeah, so I cut my teeth on systems 00:03:37.755 --> 00:03:41.825 and network engineers back when VMware was a thing and all the storage and stuff. 00:03:41.825 --> 00:03:45.535 So that was kind of where I first started and then hopped around 00:03:45.535 --> 00:03:51.505 a little bit, started doing some More software dev, digital, UX, UI. 00:03:51.515 --> 00:03:56.205 And then when I moved to Canada and the U. 00:03:56.205 --> 00:03:56.465 S., 00:03:56.485 --> 00:04:00.965 that was really when I started doing very, very deep into software development. 00:04:01.175 --> 00:04:03.615 And then when I started on technology people, I'm like, Hey, 00:04:03.655 --> 00:04:05.225 I want to work with the cool stuff. 00:04:05.225 --> 00:04:07.295 I don't want to be like, Oh, we're just like recruiting PHP. 00:04:07.295 --> 00:04:10.475 So I was like, Hey, AI, ML, data, software, mobile product. 00:04:10.475 --> 00:04:11.655 That's our jam. 00:04:11.655 --> 00:04:12.834 That's our specialty. 00:04:12.835 --> 00:04:15.005 And we've kind of applied those. 00:04:15.170 --> 00:04:19.900 Niches across a variety of different verticals, so we're doing stuff in Web3, 00:04:20.130 --> 00:04:23.550 Blockchain, we're doing some cool stuff in Robotics, our clients are in Quantum 00:04:23.550 --> 00:04:26.940 Computing, shout out to Agnostic as well, they, do some great work in 00:04:26.940 --> 00:04:30.010 Quantum in Toronto, so, yeah, that, that's kind of the long and short of, 00:04:30.020 --> 00:04:32.060 of, uh, of our network and our clients. 00:04:32.990 --> 00:04:33.700 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: That's awesome. 00:04:33.750 --> 00:04:36.860 I, out of curiosity, are there any sectors that you find 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:38.150 are particularly interesting? 00:04:38.545 --> 00:04:42.915 Interesting or difficult to recruit for, or I feel like the AI stuff that's 00:04:42.915 --> 00:04:47.345 been booming, you hear about some of the salaries that the folks working 00:04:47.345 --> 00:04:49.435 at places like OpenAI are making. 00:04:49.675 --> 00:04:55.265 That's gotta be a very, selective process and small, small pool of people. 00:04:55.275 --> 00:04:57.435 How does it differ across, sectors? 00:04:57.540 --> 00:04:58.240 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: it's a good question. 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:02.410 I mean, tech, why I loved it and why I've always recruited in tech, there's 00:05:02.410 --> 00:05:03.910 always something new coming out. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:05.740 There's always new technology, new framework. 00:05:06.010 --> 00:05:10.020 So, being in that sector, there's, always the new shiny thing. 00:05:10.020 --> 00:05:13.730 And as I said, we founded in Jan 2020, just before the pandemic kicked off, 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:16.180 focusing on AI and machine learning. 00:05:17.095 --> 00:05:22.225 Whilst it was a market, it wasn't the sexy gen AI chat post 00:05:22.225 --> 00:05:23.605 chat GPT world that we live in. 00:05:23.605 --> 00:05:27.705 So it is definitely supply and demand and that really ties into salary. 00:05:27.705 --> 00:05:33.415 So when the demand is up, gen AI, if you look at any hardware skills in like ASIC, 00:05:33.455 --> 00:05:40.475 FPGA, CPUs, GPUs, the compiler technology, that stuff, man, red hot at the minute. 00:05:40.485 --> 00:05:41.635 It's really, really hard 00:05:41.635 --> 00:05:42.475 to find people. 00:05:43.395 --> 00:05:44.005 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:05:44.515 --> 00:05:46.585 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: uh, yeah, but I mean, what we've seen on 00:05:46.585 --> 00:05:50.355 the other end of the market is obviously all the layoffs that happened in the 00:05:50.355 --> 00:05:52.615 last kind of 12 ish, 18 months in the U. 00:05:52.615 --> 00:05:52.765 S. 00:05:52.785 --> 00:05:57.905 tech market, that's kind of, we had that follow on effect here in Canada, when 00:05:57.905 --> 00:06:02.565 there are massive layoffs, the shoe's on the other foot, now the demand is 00:06:02.575 --> 00:06:06.575 decreased, and there's a huge supply of candidates, so that, formula generally 00:06:06.575 --> 00:06:08.405 puts downward pressure on salaries. 00:06:08.615 --> 00:06:10.965 When there's increased demand, candidate shortage, that's 00:06:10.965 --> 00:06:12.175 when the salaries are going up. 00:06:12.175 --> 00:06:14.425 And that's exactly what we're seeing at the minute in those 00:06:14.435 --> 00:06:15.915 kind of AI hardware verticals. 00:06:16.810 --> 00:06:17.930 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah, that makes sense. 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:21.750 Also, since you brought up that effect from the US coming into 00:06:21.750 --> 00:06:25.800 Canada, you've done this in a few different parts of the world. 00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:30.500 Do you see big differences in, the process in different countries, or maybe 00:06:30.500 --> 00:06:32.740 even just like from legal perspectives? 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:33.940 Like how does it all work? 00:06:34.515 --> 00:06:35.705 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: It's really interesting, man. 00:06:35.715 --> 00:06:39.875 If you take a look back at any, if you, I'm just going to pick random 00:06:39.875 --> 00:06:43.385 countries, say Australia, and we're really close to like Indonesia, and 00:06:43.385 --> 00:06:48.635 then we've got, China and Japan and the Middle East and UK and Europe and 00:06:48.635 --> 00:06:54.945 North America, if you go and walk around the streets, what is typical behavior 00:06:54.945 --> 00:06:57.115 and what is acceptable in one region? 00:06:57.705 --> 00:07:01.555 You take that to another region and you might find yourself in a little strife. 00:07:01.915 --> 00:07:05.625 So what I found was really interesting is that every country you live in 00:07:05.855 --> 00:07:08.155 has these different cultural norms. 00:07:08.505 --> 00:07:13.335 And there are pros and cons, I find, to every region that I've lived in. 00:07:13.365 --> 00:07:18.735 I find that, If we take the UK and Australia and the APAC region, very 00:07:18.735 --> 00:07:23.565 direct, it is quite transactional where people are, you know, I don't necessarily 00:07:23.565 --> 00:07:27.425 need to have a brand or a reputation or a connection with this person. 00:07:27.625 --> 00:07:28.845 They're like, Hey, you're a recruiter. 00:07:28.845 --> 00:07:29.965 Hey, here's some good candidates. 00:07:29.965 --> 00:07:30.265 Sure. 00:07:30.285 --> 00:07:31.025 I'll take a look. 00:07:31.035 --> 00:07:31.785 Let's try it out. 00:07:32.345 --> 00:07:38.495 Whereas here in the U S and Canada, that type of business approach, it 00:07:38.495 --> 00:07:42.275 still might happen, but it's a very, It's a much smaller amount of success. 00:07:42.275 --> 00:07:47.555 So it's very relationship driven, but then if you go to somewhere in Asia, 00:07:47.625 --> 00:07:49.015 again, it's going to be different. 00:07:49.185 --> 00:07:52.925 So it was just, I find getting used to those different cultural norms. 00:07:52.925 --> 00:07:55.655 And I mean, we've been in Canada now since 2017. 00:07:55.665 --> 00:07:59.865 So certainly I find that we've adapted to what is norm, but I 00:07:59.865 --> 00:08:05.215 still have a particular style about how I do my work and how I meet 00:08:05.215 --> 00:08:05.975 people and such. 00:08:06.235 --> 00:08:06.905 Some people. 00:08:07.310 --> 00:08:10.680 Um, I don't want to say love or hate, but it, it kind of comes down to that. 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:12.800 So some people like don't respond well to it at all. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:13.440 Like, oh, 00:08:13.440 --> 00:08:14.280 it's too strong. 00:08:14.590 --> 00:08:15.890 I did a disk assessment. 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:18.390 Strong D personality, just like down the line. 00:08:18.420 --> 00:08:20.280 Let's talk, the nuts and bolts of it. 00:08:20.840 --> 00:08:24.930 Whereas I find sometimes people need a bit of fluffy couple of conversations. 00:08:24.960 --> 00:08:28.120 So I'm like, ah, whatever it, work with me or don't. 00:08:28.380 --> 00:08:29.660 It doesn't make that much of a difference. 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:30.810 I'm here to help. 00:08:31.760 --> 00:08:32.150 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yep. 00:08:32.180 --> 00:08:32.710 That's fair. 00:08:33.350 --> 00:08:35.560 Piggybacking on that question. 00:08:35.680 --> 00:08:36.620 I'm curious. 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:39.540 Do you all work like the way you all work? 00:08:39.550 --> 00:08:45.290 Is it, just so you recruit four firms in North America and is 00:08:45.290 --> 00:08:48.210 the talent pool you're looking at always going to be folks? 00:08:49.005 --> 00:08:54.555 In North America, or do you also look to the rest of the world either for 00:08:54.565 --> 00:08:59.745 remote roles or do these companies sometimes, want to look worldwide 00:08:59.765 --> 00:09:04.015 to perhaps bring someone into, to, their North American offices? 00:09:04.515 --> 00:09:06.195 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: So during the pandemic, 00:09:06.355 --> 00:09:08.675 everyone was like remote first, 00:09:09.265 --> 00:09:09.925 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:09:10.465 --> 00:09:13.645 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: we recruited across, I found that 00:09:13.645 --> 00:09:17.335 when we picked up roles, it was quite, broad across, the globe, 00:09:17.795 --> 00:09:21.045 especially in web three, if you're like web three, blockchain, DeFi, 00:09:21.355 --> 00:09:24.685 those clients were just like anybody, anywhere, just find me the best people. 00:09:25.025 --> 00:09:26.495 so it does only see, saw that. 00:09:26.850 --> 00:09:29.780 Traditionally when we first started, we only did Canada and then it was after 00:09:29.780 --> 00:09:33.800 about six ish, 12 months that we're like, Hey, there is so much more business to 00:09:33.800 --> 00:09:35.720 be had in North America or in the States. 00:09:36.060 --> 00:09:39.980 So we, won a few accounts in the US, but I'd say primarily our main 00:09:39.980 --> 00:09:44.550 network and our main focus is in Canada but through that, obviously 00:09:44.730 --> 00:09:46.380 it's hard to ignore the US there. 00:09:46.430 --> 00:09:49.250 Yeah, and one point as well, you're talking about bringing people in 00:09:49.250 --> 00:09:54.770 and around, there are, recruitment businesses that have, they specialize 00:09:54.770 --> 00:09:59.920 in bringing international talent for Canadian companies, but what I think 00:09:59.920 --> 00:10:04.350 is interesting to note on companies that offer that type of model, we're 00:10:04.350 --> 00:10:05.890 missing out on the Canadian talent. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:09.100 So there's a lot of people in Canada who are like, Hey, can I please work? 00:10:09.180 --> 00:10:12.190 And then there are companies that are like, Hey, we can hire you this. 00:10:12.190 --> 00:10:15.460 Dude from Mexico or this person from Pakistan or whatever, and 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:17.090 they'll bring them over on a visa. 00:10:17.090 --> 00:10:19.940 And it's been to the detriment of local Canadian talent. 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:22.110 So I think, yeah, just at the end of the day, there's a lot of 00:10:22.110 --> 00:10:24.720 people who can do a lot of work and there's a lot of companies hiring. 00:10:25.650 --> 00:10:28.250 It's, we're just matchmakers at the end of the day. 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:31.460 And, we spend a lot of time building our network and our brand and these 00:10:31.490 --> 00:10:34.950 so as, when, and if the role comes up, Hey Presto, we've already got 00:10:34.950 --> 00:10:36.030 a good network of people there. 00:10:37.040 --> 00:10:37.350 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:10:37.460 --> 00:10:38.080 That makes sense. 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:43.350 Out of curiosity, as a North American firm, do you also, 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:45.540 would you do recruiting? 00:10:45.550 --> 00:10:49.270 Would you work with a company outside of North America who wants 00:10:49.270 --> 00:10:50.760 to recruit North American talent? 00:10:50.860 --> 00:10:51.770 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: small business, man. 00:10:51.770 --> 00:10:52.580 We're not too picky. 00:10:53.385 --> 00:10:54.455 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: yeah, yeah, anyone. 00:10:54.465 --> 00:10:54.795 Okay. 00:10:55.010 --> 00:10:55.630 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: yeah, really, 00:10:56.185 --> 00:10:57.445 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah, that's fair. 00:10:57.730 --> 00:10:58.880 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: you know, in Europe said, 00:10:58.880 --> 00:11:02.470 Hey, we want to build a team in Toronto, Happy to help them. 00:11:02.730 --> 00:11:08.180 If a , UK company or let's say a US company, for example, wants to hire 00:11:08.180 --> 00:11:09.500 in Toronto, hey, we can do that. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.640 Another point I'll just highlight as well about the whole pandemic thing, when we 00:11:13.640 --> 00:11:18.530 kicked off the pandemic in Canada, It blew up the market, man, because all these U. 00:11:18.530 --> 00:11:18.700 S. 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:21.950 tech companies were hiring, and they were poaching a lot 00:11:21.950 --> 00:11:23.680 of really good Canadian talent. 00:11:23.910 --> 00:11:28.660 So what that meant is, it's driven the, it's increased the demand for Canadian 00:11:28.660 --> 00:11:32.670 engineers, and therefore increased the salaries, which is why, during that 00:11:32.790 --> 00:11:37.780 peak pandemic, we saw salaries going crazy, and now, a lot of people are 00:11:37.780 --> 00:11:40.120 talking about this whole, tech downturn. 00:11:40.820 --> 00:11:43.980 It's kind of, we're balancing ourselves out a little bit. 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:46.990 A lot of these tech companies had these huge valuations, so now it's kind 00:11:46.990 --> 00:11:50.930 of like, hey, we're settling back to something that's a little more stable 00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:53.830 mind you, if you're an AI company, maybe a different story, but, 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:55.490 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:11:55.700 --> 00:11:56.960 Yeah, that's true. 00:11:57.270 --> 00:12:02.640 So North technology people, is that your first, first foray into 00:12:02.650 --> 00:12:03.910 building a business yourself? 00:12:04.450 --> 00:12:05.240 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: Yes, 00:12:06.020 --> 00:12:06.630 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:12:06.930 --> 00:12:07.670 How's that going? 00:12:07.670 --> 00:12:08.900 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: Champagne and razorblades. 00:12:08.900 --> 00:12:11.960 There's an old saying in recruitment, champagne and razorblades. 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:15.330 You're either popping corks because you made placements and everybody's happy and 00:12:15.330 --> 00:12:19.910 you're making money, or it's razorblades where you're like, oh my god, this is very 00:12:19.910 --> 00:12:22.110 hard, and I'm having some dark thoughts. 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:24.632 So look, man, honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world. 00:12:24.652 --> 00:12:29.882 I was really fortunate where I had a little, bit of cash lying around 00:12:29.882 --> 00:12:30.642 where I'm like, Hey, you know what? 00:12:30.642 --> 00:12:33.812 I could probably see myself through for the next three, six months without a job. 00:12:34.282 --> 00:12:34.542 Want to 00:12:34.552 --> 00:12:35.962 start making some money. 00:12:36.222 --> 00:12:38.382 So it was pretty touch and go for the first six months. 00:12:38.402 --> 00:12:42.292 Cause like I said, we incorporated, I think it was like 14th of Jan, 2020. 00:12:42.602 --> 00:12:43.632 And then literally two 00:12:43.632 --> 00:12:44.542 weeks later, we're 00:12:45.117 --> 00:12:46.097 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: rough timing. 00:12:46.652 --> 00:12:47.362 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: bad, really. 00:12:47.562 --> 00:12:52.892 But, you know, we, I said, we had some cash to tide me over for a little bit. 00:12:53.187 --> 00:12:56.717 It was pretty scary thinking, Hey, what, what's happening? 00:12:56.717 --> 00:12:58.247 And I think everybody was in the same boat. 00:12:58.647 --> 00:12:58.937 but Yeah. 00:12:58.937 --> 00:13:02.407 first business learnt a ton, learnt from failing. 00:13:02.427 --> 00:13:05.147 I guess, I don't know if people are too proud to say that, but Hey, guess what? 00:13:05.147 --> 00:13:09.377 You learn so much more from a mistake than you do from a success 00:13:09.377 --> 00:13:10.647 because you're like, Oh, it worked. 00:13:10.887 --> 00:13:11.677 But if you fail, 00:13:11.677 --> 00:13:14.937 you're like, ah sometimes you have to learn that lesson the hard way. 00:13:14.937 --> 00:13:15.267 So. 00:13:15.937 --> 00:13:16.717 It's been awesome. 00:13:16.737 --> 00:13:21.477 I've hired and trained and coached and managed people from zero recruitment 00:13:21.477 --> 00:13:23.447 experience to be highly proficient. 00:13:23.617 --> 00:13:27.547 A lot of these people have now gone on for other roles and, for turnover 00:13:27.547 --> 00:13:30.837 and sometimes it didn't work out with particular people, but, I'm really happy 00:13:30.837 --> 00:13:34.927 with, uh, I'm excited about what we've, what I've built and I think we've done 00:13:34.927 --> 00:13:36.427 some great work for some great companies. 00:13:36.437 --> 00:13:40.487 So, uh, yeah, certainly happy with, with how things are, but, certainly not the 00:13:40.517 --> 00:13:42.357 only thing I'm working on at the minute. 00:13:42.357 --> 00:13:46.447 Got a little stealth tech startup I'm working on at the minute, um, with, uh, 00:13:46.967 --> 00:13:48.347 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: A small tech product. 00:13:49.667 --> 00:13:51.047 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: It is a small tech product. 00:13:51.357 --> 00:13:52.147 Yes, it is. 00:13:52.177 --> 00:13:52.957 Yes, it is. 00:13:53.977 --> 00:13:54.377 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yep. 00:13:54.517 --> 00:13:55.097 Awesome. 00:13:55.197 --> 00:13:58.517 Is there anything you can tell us about that or is that still 00:13:58.517 --> 00:13:59.487 keeping that quiet for now? 00:14:00.517 --> 00:14:01.447 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: No, yeah, so. 00:14:02.167 --> 00:14:05.157 I'll, I don't want to, you know obviously this is going to go out to a live audience 00:14:05.157 --> 00:14:08.317 and we're still definitely in that stealth mode, but hopefully we can reveal in the 00:14:08.317 --> 00:14:12.327 next couple of weeks but basically it's in the recruitment sector and, having 00:14:12.327 --> 00:14:17.647 done a ton of research about what else is out there, a lot of people are trying 00:14:17.677 --> 00:14:20.792 to, automate the job of a recruiter, 00:14:21.672 --> 00:14:22.142 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:14:22.282 --> 00:14:23.222 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: which is kind of like 00:14:23.222 --> 00:14:24.442 this AI for everything. 00:14:24.442 --> 00:14:28.802 Oh, it's going to be AI AI for this, and where I come back to is like. 00:14:29.652 --> 00:14:33.412 Is AI necessarily, is it the right hammer? 00:14:33.492 --> 00:14:35.112 Is it the right tool for this problem? 00:14:35.342 --> 00:14:38.502 And I think everybody's just hitting things with AI. 00:14:39.022 --> 00:14:40.212 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: There's so much of that. 00:14:40.212 --> 00:14:40.802 It's true. 00:14:40.802 --> 00:14:41.682 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: yeah, totally. 00:14:41.682 --> 00:14:43.452 So we're definitely utilizing AI. 00:14:43.452 --> 00:14:45.172 It's in the recruitment space and sector. 00:14:45.392 --> 00:14:50.612 But I can comfortably say I have not through dozens of hours of 00:14:50.612 --> 00:14:54.242 research, I have not found any global competitors that are doing what we do. 00:14:54.242 --> 00:14:58.892 So I'm pretty sure, pretty sure, man, once we launch. 00:14:59.682 --> 00:15:00.242 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:15:00.302 --> 00:15:02.072 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: mean, I'm, I'm totally like tooting 00:15:02.072 --> 00:15:06.602 my own horn here, but we're, I really do think we're going to disrupt. 00:15:06.652 --> 00:15:11.362 I mean, I know again, that, yeah, man, you're talking a big game, once, once we 00:15:11.362 --> 00:15:15.422 launch what we've built and what I have in my mind, I don't think recruitment 00:15:15.422 --> 00:15:16.632 will be done the same way again. 00:15:16.662 --> 00:15:19.392 And we're really trying to solve problems. 00:15:19.392 --> 00:15:21.422 You know, everybody's like, oh, let's automate recruitment. 00:15:21.422 --> 00:15:23.682 And I'm like, sure, you guys do that. 00:15:23.892 --> 00:15:25.782 We're going to go over here and build this thing. 00:15:26.022 --> 00:15:28.122 And then hopefully we're going to eat your lunch. 00:15:29.102 --> 00:15:31.542 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Well, maybe in a few months we should have 00:15:31.542 --> 00:15:35.862 you back on and you can talk about your, product development journey. 00:15:36.102 --> 00:15:37.622 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: Mate, I would absolutely love it. 00:15:37.622 --> 00:15:41.232 I've been super inspired to, to build something like this. 00:15:41.232 --> 00:15:44.742 And it's now, it's not, I want to actually transition out of North 00:15:44.742 --> 00:15:48.832 technology people and, and work on this startup full time this year. 00:15:48.842 --> 00:15:52.172 That's obviously going to be super difficult, but it's, what I, what 00:15:52.172 --> 00:15:55.312 I want to do, and, we're going to apply for YC in a couple of weeks. 00:15:55.312 --> 00:15:58.142 So crossed, we'll see. 00:15:58.252 --> 00:15:59.552 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah, fingers crossed. 00:15:59.922 --> 00:16:01.062 That's super exciting. 00:16:01.112 --> 00:16:04.272 Man, building, products is just, it's also just so much fun. 00:16:04.349 --> 00:16:08.869 Like, I love it, have you found that so far the product development 00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:11.159 stuff, exciting, difficult? 00:16:11.209 --> 00:16:12.689 Was it what you were expecting? 00:16:12.689 --> 00:16:13.469 Was it not? 00:16:13.479 --> 00:16:14.629 Like, how's that going for you? 00:16:14.629 --> 00:16:14.909 Yeah. 00:16:14.909 --> 00:16:16.109 I'm a, I'm a sales guy. 00:16:16.199 --> 00:16:18.739 That, that's what I've for the last 15 years or so. 00:16:19.569 --> 00:16:20.599 I don't want sales guy anymore. 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:24.819 I want to, I, and where I think my skills, my recruitment background 00:16:24.819 --> 00:16:27.269 will really compliment a tech company is on that product. 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:32.459 So having listened to a bunch of podcasts and events and heard 00:16:32.459 --> 00:16:33.579 a lot of smart people talk. 00:16:33.929 --> 00:16:36.549 Yourself, Raph, last week on our show, appreciate that one. 00:16:36.999 --> 00:16:42.999 You know, there is a, there is certainly a recipe that people suggest in building 00:16:43.029 --> 00:16:46.789 tech products, whether or not you follow that recipe or have, or follow 00:16:46.789 --> 00:16:48.769 the advice, completely different story. 00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:49.679 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: but Yeah. 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:54.304 I think people don't know what they want and your job as a 00:16:54.324 --> 00:16:58.184 founder and a product person is to iterate and try and experiment. 00:16:58.184 --> 00:16:58.864 Hey, what about this? 00:16:58.864 --> 00:16:59.454 What about that? 00:16:59.454 --> 00:17:02.964 So, that fail fast kind of design mentality is certainly something 00:17:02.974 --> 00:17:04.554 that I've, taken on board. 00:17:04.584 --> 00:17:07.864 And I mean, for mine, if I can learn from somebody who's smarter than me 00:17:07.964 --> 00:17:11.034 and learn a lesson the easy way, when someone's like, Hey, Adam, don't do that. 00:17:11.449 --> 00:17:13.609 Yep, gotcha Raph, next. 00:17:13.609 --> 00:17:15.349 So yeah, excited for that journey, for sure. 00:17:15.349 --> 00:17:15.879 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Awesome. 00:17:15.879 --> 00:17:16.309 Cool. 00:17:16.359 --> 00:17:20.239 Anything else you want to tell me about North Technology people or, the events? 00:17:20.309 --> 00:17:22.249 Thank you so much for having me last week. 00:17:22.249 --> 00:17:23.139 That was amazing. 00:17:23.579 --> 00:17:26.709 I think I saw you also do like an AI machine learning one. 00:17:26.719 --> 00:17:27.179 So yeah. 00:17:27.179 --> 00:17:27.539 Yeah. 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:28.809 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: Yeah man, so you know, recruitment 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:33.409 business, we make placements, that's where we generate revenue, but since 00:17:33.419 --> 00:17:37.709 we started the business, I've always, believed in the term of kind of business 00:17:37.729 --> 00:17:41.469 karma, you know, like if we're, you know, So, creating this, this free 00:17:41.469 --> 00:17:45.694 event community and resource for people across Canada and North America, and 00:17:45.694 --> 00:17:47.385 we're contributing to the ecosystem. 00:17:47.385 --> 00:17:51.691 Good things come off the back of that, and we have just met so many 00:17:51.691 --> 00:17:54.651 fantastic people, clients, and candidates alike through our events. 00:17:54.651 --> 00:17:55.971 So, yeah, that's what we do. 00:17:56.561 --> 00:17:58.691 But yeah, don't, don't want to plug the business too much. 00:17:58.691 --> 00:18:02.051 If you're hiring or you're looking for work, always happy to have conversations 00:18:02.051 --> 00:18:04.901 I think recruitment's probably I don't want to call myself an expert 00:18:04.901 --> 00:18:08.461 because I don't like to, so I just, I know a lot about recruitment and, 00:18:08.831 --> 00:18:10.071 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: I'll call you an expert. 00:18:10.071 --> 00:18:10.431 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: okay, 00:18:10.481 --> 00:18:11.831 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: you don't want to say it, I'll say it. 00:18:12.241 --> 00:18:14.571 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: yeah, you get called these types of 00:18:14.571 --> 00:18:17.151 things that when people are like, oh, I'm an entrepreneur, I'm like, I think you 00:18:17.151 --> 00:18:20.391 get called that, you know, that's, it's like a nickname, you know what I mean? 00:18:20.391 --> 00:18:21.101 Like nobody's 00:18:21.101 --> 00:18:23.621 like, oh yeah, I'm like Jimmy Jones. 00:18:23.621 --> 00:18:24.691 It's like, does anybody call you that? 00:18:24.701 --> 00:18:26.230 Or is that what you want people to call you? 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:28.950 You get awarded a nickname, you get awarded those types of titles. 00:18:28.950 --> 00:18:32.500 So, Yeah, I think we do cool things with our results speak for themselves and 00:18:32.500 --> 00:18:35.970 yeah, happy to chat and help anybody who's looking for work or struggling I know 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:37.560 it's pretty tough out there at the minute. 00:18:37.560 --> 00:18:37.950 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Yeah. 00:18:38.370 --> 00:18:38.830 Awesome. 00:18:38.840 --> 00:18:40.160 Well, thank you so much. 00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:43.180 We're going to wrap this up with, the small tech question. 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:47.911 So I hear you've brought a, a small tech product to, talk about something 00:18:47.911 --> 00:18:52.391 that you use that has Meaningfully affected your life in some way or 00:18:52.391 --> 00:18:55.391 that you find neat or fun or yeah. 00:18:55.471 --> 00:18:56.381 What you got for us? 00:18:56.381 --> 00:18:58.381 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: Yeah, so there is this 00:18:58.471 --> 00:19:01.151 app called , PDF Filler. 00:19:01.741 --> 00:19:02.121 Now 00:19:02.441 --> 00:19:03.101 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: PDF 00:19:03.591 --> 00:19:06.091 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: Yeah, when we get CVs in from candidates, 00:19:06.091 --> 00:19:07.731 they have all their details on there. 00:19:07.981 --> 00:19:10.811 And there are some things that we want to scrub off, i. 00:19:10.811 --> 00:19:11.201 e. 00:19:11.201 --> 00:19:13.451 Personal contact details when we send them to the client, because we 00:19:13.451 --> 00:19:15.941 don't want them to call the candidate directly, and then we miss out on 00:19:15.941 --> 00:19:18.120 that, and the conversations, and the follow up, and blah, blah, blah. 00:19:18.121 --> 00:19:21.131 So we say, hey, if you want to talk to Jim or Jane or Raph, let 00:19:21.131 --> 00:19:22.371 us know, and we'll coordinate that. 00:19:22.891 --> 00:19:27.581 PDF filler has just been like super useful, where you just upload any 00:19:27.581 --> 00:19:31.591 document, specifically PDFs, which you can't edit, And then I'll go 00:19:31.591 --> 00:19:34.781 in and I'll draw a square and I'll say, remove, and then I'll add logo. 00:19:35.071 --> 00:19:38.531 It, I don't know how many users they have, but it's just been, I mean, we, 00:19:38.531 --> 00:19:41.841 we used it for the last four years and it's just like a no brainer. 00:19:41.841 --> 00:19:42.751 It's like, yep, cool. 00:19:42.751 --> 00:19:43.431 We need this. 00:19:43.801 --> 00:19:46.891 , so there's that, which I found was, super handy and useful for us. 00:19:46.941 --> 00:19:52.721 Also, if you're like, just an average Joe or Jane, Carrot is a 00:19:52.721 --> 00:19:56.871 mobile app that I also look and use. 00:19:56.951 --> 00:19:58.251 I've used it to buy some things. 00:19:58.471 --> 00:20:03.091 So basically it's like eBay, but it's like hyper, super localized. 00:20:03.101 --> 00:20:05.811 So the idea is that like, you're selling stuff to your neighbors 00:20:05.871 --> 00:20:07.081 and people in your community. 00:20:07.541 --> 00:20:10.791 So yeah, it's free to use and download. 00:20:10.831 --> 00:20:13.081 I've bought some random stuff off there. 00:20:13.401 --> 00:20:15.181 So I would, yeah, totally plug them. 00:20:15.461 --> 00:20:19.661 And, the last one I'd say is, uh, TinyURL. 00:20:19.721 --> 00:20:21.311 It does what it says on the box. 00:20:21.411 --> 00:20:23.031 They've been around for ages. 00:20:23.071 --> 00:20:26.150 I did used to use another one , URL shortener. 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:27.540 I think it was called Bitly. 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:30.350 But then they, monetized it and blah, blah, blah. 00:20:30.350 --> 00:20:33.370 And I'm like, ugh, I don't want to pay to make my URL shortener. 00:20:33.370 --> 00:20:35.910 So, TinyURL, shout out to you guys. 00:20:35.940 --> 00:20:37.020 Thanks for keeping it free. 00:20:37.050 --> 00:20:40.070 And, yeah, basically you just, if you need to shorten a URL, 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:41.250 you just throw it in there. 00:20:41.250 --> 00:20:45.790 TinyURL, bing, and it gives you a, you know, HTTP, LARIBAR, 506letters. 00:20:45.820 --> 00:20:48.230 com, and you just click, you can send that link, and people click it, 00:20:48.230 --> 00:20:49.600 and it takes them to the full URL. 00:20:49.610 --> 00:20:53.240 So, uh, yeah, there's a few little products that, hopefully worked 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.290 for me, and, and hopefully your audience can find some value there. 00:20:56.290 --> 00:20:56.720 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: I love it. 00:20:56.740 --> 00:20:59.320 I find it so awesome how there's like. 00:20:59.965 --> 00:21:03.135 There's so much space for so many different like little products 00:21:03.135 --> 00:21:08.295 that serve a very specific purpose for a very specific audience. 00:21:08.515 --> 00:21:09.415 And you can just build 00:21:09.415 --> 00:21:13.355 a nice solid business running these small tech products, which is amazing. 00:21:13.865 --> 00:21:15.335 So, yeah, thanks for sharing those. 00:21:15.565 --> 00:21:18.875 I will definitely be checking out Carrot, and the PDF filler 00:21:18.875 --> 00:21:20.155 sounds pretty great too. 00:21:20.515 --> 00:21:21.885 And TinyURL, I already knew. 00:21:22.245 --> 00:21:22.815 They're pretty cool. 00:21:22.915 --> 00:21:23.655 Thanks for sharing. 00:21:23.755 --> 00:21:25.865 And thanks for coming on the podcast. 00:21:25.865 --> 00:21:26.865 I appreciate it. 00:21:26.865 --> 00:21:27.865 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: Very welcome, Raph. 00:21:27.865 --> 00:21:28.255 Yeah, man. 00:21:28.255 --> 00:21:28.595 It was good. 00:21:28.605 --> 00:21:29.485 Good to catch up and chat. 00:21:29.485 --> 00:21:33.145 And hopefully the audience is, uh, you know, learn a thing or two about 00:21:33.145 --> 00:21:36.795 recruitment in the market and what's happening, but, uh, yeah, I think that 00:21:36.805 --> 00:21:40.235 this, the market, the last thing I'll say is that, that, honestly, tech , hasn't 00:21:40.245 --> 00:21:44.125 had its best year in the last 12 to 18 months, but from what we're seeing. 00:21:44.580 --> 00:21:48.230 So I predicted at the end of last year, I said Q1 is going to be a kind of wait 00:21:48.230 --> 00:21:51.350 and see month, if we got through the end of the quarter and didn't see a 00:21:51.350 --> 00:21:55.720 bunch of Canadian layoffs, I think Bell and a couple of other large corporate 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:59.680 enterprises have decided to make some layoffs, which is cool, but as long as 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:05.400 we're not seeing a bunch of startups VC funded make I think Q2 is probably going 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:11.170 to be the unthawing and then hopefully Q3, Q4, we're going to start to see 00:22:11.170 --> 00:22:12.970 some good movement again in the market. 00:22:12.990 --> 00:22:16.260 We're starting to see some clients like pop up again and start to have 00:22:16.270 --> 00:22:18.930 people get back in touch with us and say, Hey, can you help over my goal? 00:22:18.930 --> 00:22:19.270 Okay. 00:22:19.270 --> 00:22:20.680 So it's starting to see things move. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:24.530 Anybody who's out there struggling to find work, just be patient , happy 00:22:24.530 --> 00:22:27.850 to help you if you want to chat and have conversations about that as well. 00:22:27.850 --> 00:22:28.400 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: awesome. 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:31.500 That is very hopeful sounding, and I love it. 00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:33.370 So, great note to end it on. 00:22:33.470 --> 00:22:35.830 Thanks for coming on, and I'll talk to you soon. 00:22:35.835 --> 00:22:36.465 adam-delgado--he-him-_1_03-26-2024_180225: man, take care, all the 00:22:36.590 --> 00:22:37.540 raph_1_03-26-2024_150226: Alright, see ya. 00:22:38.250 --> 00:22:38.850 Raphaël Titsworth-Morin: Folks. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:45.060 That was my interview with Adam Delgato of north technology people. 00:22:45.060 --> 00:22:46.140 I hope you enjoyed it. 00:22:46.140 --> 00:22:49.290 I hope you've learned some interesting stuff about recruitment. 00:22:49.290 --> 00:22:53.370 And make sure to keep an eye out for whatever Adam is brewing on the 00:22:53.370 --> 00:22:55.950 side, this exciting new product. 00:22:55.950 --> 00:23:02.140 So thanks again for listening, you can go find Ephemere Creative at goec.io. 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:06.230 You can subscribe to the podcast at smalltechpodcast.com. 00:23:06.420 --> 00:23:11.670 Find us on YouTube on Spotify, everywhere that fine podcasts are found. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:17.200 You can subscribe to our newsletter smalltechpodcast.com, which is 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:20.680 where we will be sending you all kinds of neat tips and tricks 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:23.350 about building small tech products. 00:23:23.350 --> 00:23:28.330 So that's it for this week's episode, we all want to do some good in the world. 00:23:28.330 --> 00:23:31.810 So go out there and build something good folks. 00:23:31.810 --> 00:23:33.010 I'll see you on the next one. 00:23:33.250 --> 00:23:33.430 See. 00:23:33.430 --> 00:23:33.850 Yeah.