Supercharging startup talent with the Lilypad

At Blackbird, we believe that people and talent is a critical ingredient to building generational companies, and that traditional recruiting methods don’t solve this. We also believe that investing in a great founder and idea is only the beginning, and supporting them with hiring a team of epic leaders and operators is crucial to supercharging success.

So when it comes to startup talent, what does Blackbird look for?

Just like what we look for in founders, when it comes to talent we look for wild hearts with crazy ambition, the hungry and not the proven.  So if you’re considering a career move but don’t know whether a startup is right for you, a good way to start is by asking yourself  the following questions:

• Are you a wild-heart with a sense of creativity?
• Do you like solving chunky complex problems?
• How do you deal with failure?
• Do you enjoy autonomy, trust and responsibility?
• Do you have a growth and learning mindset?
• Are you looking to master your craft in business or technology?
• Do you like ambiguity or comfortable with the uncomfortable?
• Are you purpose driven and do you like having an impact?

If you answered YES to most of the above questions, then a career in a startup could be for you. And if you’re seeking a new opportunity, we’ve built a product to get you in front of ANZs most ambitious startups.

Welcome to the Blackbird Lilypad.

The place where all great talent goes to leapfrog into their dream job in a startup.

The place where our startups look for great people.

The Lilypad is for talented humans from all walks of life and all around the world. Whether you are a recent grad in computer science, a salesperson, marketer, accountant or just a gun operator, it could be the place you find your dream job.

Simply just sign up to join our epic talent community:

• Be noticed and directly introduced to founders
• Keep up to date with the coolest new roles and startups
• Get the inside scoop and exclusive access to opportunities
  

Here’s some of our favourite stories from the Lilypad so far.

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Meet Vanessa.

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Vanessa Iezzi, also a Startmate Fellow, was the first Lilypad hire! She was introduced to Holly the founder of Carted through the network and landed her dream job as their Head of People, Vanessa is already having a huge impact building their team.

“I love Holly and the team at Carted, this is literally my dream role! Thank you so much for helping make this happen.”

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Meet Jeremy.

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Jeremy was working in a software company in sales and was ready to leapfrog into something new and more purpose-driven. As our first NZ based Lilypad hire, he’s joined See-Mode in an Account Manager role helping stroke patients using AI.

In fact, Jeremy has already closed his first deal!

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Meet James.

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James Lark was the first technical hire from the Lilypad. SafetyCulture had been through 4 rounds of interviews, so were thrilled when they secured James in a Digital Technology Manager role. James was described by the team at SafetyCulture as the Pink Unicorn for such a hard-to-fill role.

“I signed up to the Talent Network for access to roles that haven’t been advertised yet and for the inside scoop. I never expected to land a role through it!”

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Meet Henry.

Henry’s story is one of our favourites: he signed up to the Lilypad and landed a 6 week internship at Gilmour Space where he got to pursue a dream of building rockets!

“I am grateful to Gilmour Space for the incredible support they’ve provided in helping me navigate through interstate lockdown situations in Queensland and Victoria. I am also thankful to Nicholas Lindsay for giving me the interview opportunity through the blackbird Talent Lilypad which ultimately led to this internship. The opportunity to contribute towards Gilmour’s space debut launch next year is one I will never forget and I wish them all the success moving forward.”

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Meet Joyce.

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Joyce has an impressive background in recruitment and building talent teams in new markets. On nearing the end of her maternity leave Joyce was hungry for a new challenge. She signed up to the Lilypad and has landed her dream job with Canva in Talent Acquisition!

“Thank YOU! The opportunity would not have been presented if it wasn’t for the Talent Lilypad!”

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Meet Prem.

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Prem has recently graduated in Data Analytics and became interested in startups. He was connected with Oscer through the Lilypad and secured his dream internship as a Data Scientist helping junior doctors with more accurate diagnosis.

“I wanted to reach out and say thank you. Though it was brief, the introduction with Tom initiated a chain reaction that ended up in an internship with Oscer.”

So whether you are ready to leapfrog into a rocketship startup or maybe you just want to be involved in our talent community then please sign up here.  Get your talented friends involved too and get ready for us to host you at our Lilypad Launch party coming in Feb 2022.