When AngelList — the network for young startups to find funding and employees — announced a $24 million round of funding last year, it noted that it had already helped 3,000 people find jobs through free listings. Now, it’s experimenting with ways to charge for them.
Today, a message has been popping up for would-be job posters: pay either 10% of the salary, or 0.25% of company equity, with the amount payable only after a person is found and hired, and refundable if the candidate leaves the job before 90 days. We have a screenshot of how the offer looks here.
Naval Ravikant, the CEO of AngelList, tells us that this is just a “test/expermiment right now.”
“It’s cheaper than anyone else out there, cash or equity (company’s choice) on hire only and only for new listings (95% of companies / activity are still free),” he tells me. Typical recruitment agency fees can be around 15%-20% of the salary of the hire in question — although this varies.
AngelList is not making a big announcement because the test may change, or disappear altogether. But a move to charging for job listings should not come as a surprise. AngelList has been adding more monetizing features to its site over the last several months, namely around its syndicate investing model (which it is now expanding by offering free investor accreditation and Syndicates in Europe).
And last year, when AngelList announced its funding, Ravikant specifically referred to recruitment as one area that it could monetize.
“We’re not charging for recruiting today but that’s a logical place to do it,” he told AllThingsD, noting that the charges could range from “$10,000 to $30,000 per hire.”
According to AngelList’s salary tracking tool, right now the average salary for a developer on the site is $101,000 through to $85,000 for those in marketing roles.
Update: Just to emphasize that the test now is just for new listings, with the charge only payable with a successful hire. But as some have pointed out in the comments below there may be some challenges around tracking referrals — Ravikant says paying up will be on an honor system. And how young startups might be able to afford such fees (the solution here, says Ravikant, is to offer equity). Then again, in what is currently a very tight employment market for tech, the rates work out more competitive than other options, as Ravikant points out.
(H/T: Adam Geller @ Edthena)