Founder Story #6 - Zain from AltFind

Building the next-gen recruitment platform

Hey there! 👋

Welcome back to another edition of Founder Stories.

At Alt, we're all about building impactful startups, which means we get to build alongside some truly ambitious founders. In this series, we want to shine a spotlight on their stories.

Today, I want to introduce you to Zain, the brains behind xlprep, which is like Quora but for K-12 students. Zain managed to grow xlprep to 200K+ users from over 100 countries. Impressive stuff!

Zain isn't just a product manager, though. He's a true venture builder. He played a key role in launching DealCart and also contributed to Qabil. His experiences have shaped him into a seasoned entrepreneur.

Let's dive into Zain's journey and learn about AltFind, the recruitment solution he's currently building at Alt.

How did you get here?

In the months leading up to the closure of my previous startup, xlprep, I sought advice from Alt on fundraising. Despite having a substantial user base of 200k+, monetization was a challenge. As I needed to sustain my venture, I had to start earning.

Alt presented an opportunity aligned with my goal of pursuing something of my own. Since then, I've been involved in the founding team of DealCart and worked on another startup, Qabil, which focused on upskilling and placement. It was during this time that we recognized the immense potential in the recruitment space.

What are you building now?

I’m building AltFind with Urooj and Fatima. Its an AI-powered SaaS tool that helps companies hire top talent faster.

For recruiters, it’s like having an assistant that screens, rates and summarizes applicants instantly. This enables them to save time and effort and focus their attention on the top applicants.

Describe the initial version of AltFind.

AltFind's first version was a test-based talent screening platform. When we realized that most companies including ours were relying more on case study assignments vs MCQs, we started looking at other ways to screen candidates.

Share a moment when you realized the potential of AltFind.

When our first customer, a multinational company, successfully hired a top-tier talent through our product, we knew we were onto something extraordinary.

Additionally, we realized its massive potential when our customer told us the person we hired for them was a top 1% talent. This was a big validation.

What differentiates AltFind from other recruitment tools?

Its ease of use and the ability to screen talent in seconds.

Every time a candidate applies for a job, our AI analyzes their application, and the employer receives a suitability score and description instantly. It eliminates the task of going through resumes to find suitable matches.

How do you address unique requirements of different industries?

We’ve kept our software customizable and modular. Different industries have different hiring processes so our approach was to focus on building things that can be easily customized. Essentially our product ethos are similar to that of Airtable—simple and customizable.

What is success for AltFind?

Our overarching mission is to help companies make better and faster hires. Success, for us, is measured by the amount of time and effort we save companies during the recruitment process.

Share a memorable experience with a standout hire.

One of our standout team members is Ubaid, our AI intern. Despite being a self-taught developer who didn't pursue formal education, his output has exceeded everyone's expectations. Ubaid has played a significant role in building one of our core AI features, and we consider ourselves fortunate to have him on board.

What energizes you each day to keep building AltFind?

The prospect of improving the recruiting process for both companies and job applicants fuels my excitement. It is unacceptable for job applicants to experience ghosting in 2023, and having been through the job-hunting process myself, I am dedicated to ensuring a top-notch candidate experience.

Share a challenging moment from your journey.

Recently, we made the tough decision to rebuild the app from scratch to 10x the user experience. This choice came after investing two months into the previous version.

Despite the initial doubt, we completed the second version in just eight days, which exceeded our expectations. Looking back, I am amazed at our ability to accomplish the rebuild so quickly.

How has been the experience of building this venture?

Hiring the right person for a company can get extremely tough especially when it comes to technical senior roles.

In order to learn the market, we drew upon our own experiences and became recruiters.

I always joke that sometimes I feel less like a recruiter and more like the Indian matchmaker Sima Aunty when I’m listening to requirements of employers.

One advice that has helped you along the way?

It’s from Y-Combinator: “better to have 10 people love your product than 10,000 people like it”. This advice keeps us focused on our problem and target persona.

What will be the biggest disruption in the recruitment industry this year?

The integration of AI will revolutionize how companies approach hiring. Without a doubt, AltFind will lead the way and prove itself as the gamechanger.

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Wrapping up…

With its ability to instantly rate applicants and provide suitability scores, AltFind eliminates the arduous task of sifting through resumes, saving valuable time and effort for companies.

Zain's dedication to improving the candidate experience and addressing unique industry requirements is evident in AltFind's customizable and modular software, ensuring adaptability to various hiring processes.

As a part of Alt, Zain and his team are driven by their mission to make better and faster hires, striving to eradicate outdated practices like ghosting.

Checkout AltFind on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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That’s it for today!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Until next time,

Hassaan