Relentless pursuit of top candidates means ongoing touchpoints (coffees, intros, conversations) for weeks, months, or even years, planting seeds that harvest at different rates — even when the candidate says it isn't the right time.
Adam describes how to keep pursuing the top 50: when a candidate says the timing is bad, still get them in for coffee, introduce them to a relevant teammate, and keep weekly conversations going so you don't lose them to a competitor when the time comes. ✦ AI generated
Adam Ward · Lenny's Podcast · 2026-08-09 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 32:44
“how to actually relentlessly pursue people. What are some tactics and stories there of just how you convince these top people to actually talk to you and then join?”
So how we think about this like relentless pursuit is you'll often reach, you know, one step is just getting them into a conversation, getting a response, getting some kind of engagement. Um, but most people will tell you if you get them, it's like not good timing. Here's all the reasons I can't do it. And you're like, 'Hey, I'm not asking you to interview. I'm not asking you to consider a role. I'm asking for a next conversation.'... Let's say it is true they can't join till late fall, that doesn't mean you're not connecting them and having conversations on a weekly basis and working that piece... By doing nothing and actually talking to them in the late fall, at best, you get them even if they're still interested then or someone else has them grabbed them. So we think about this continual touchpoint approach to them to getting them into process. Um, but that could again, we're willing to do that over days, weeks, months, and sometimes years.
verbatim transcript · starts at 32:44
32:32well, hey this can be a very slow process. Right? Um and if you're at like a zero point, your your day zero, that can feel like a slow It can feel like a slow burn. But imagine over multiple days, you're actually planting all of these seeds with potential top 50 people, they're going to come to harvest at different rates. But you got to plant the seeds. You got to start. And because
32:57it will take weeks for some, months for others. I have stories of years a year of we've worked on on candidates. And but you have to start the clock on that. And you And so how we think about this like relentless pursuit is you'll often reach, you know, one step is just getting them into a conversation, getting a response, getting some kind of engagement. Um, but most people will tell you if you
33:24get them, it's like not good timing. Here's all the reasons I can't do it. And you're like, "Hey, I'm not I'm not asking you to interview. I'm not asking you to consider a role. I'm asking for a next conversation." And so when you say, "Hey, you know, it's not really a good timing for me right now, maybe uh in the late fall." You're like, "Hey, so I totally try what's great. Like can
33:45But also, can you come by for um you want to come by for a coffee and see the office? Right? Can you Can I introduce you to this other person on the team who's really fascinated by your work? Can you go chat?" But And so you know it's not it Let's say it is true they can't join till late fall, that doesn't mean you're not connecting them and having conversations
34:04on a weekly basis and working that piece. And the it it can only move it forward. By doing nothing and actually talking to them in the late fall, at best, you get them even if they're still interested then or someone else has them grabbed them. So we think about this continual touchpoint approach to them to getting them into process. Um, but that could again, we're willing to do that over
34:27days, weeks, months, and sometimes years. >> When you reach out to someone and mention working at Cursor, now it's part of SpaceX. It's like, oh, this is interesting and cool. And you know, it's like, you never know, maybe it'll work out someday. A lot of companies, and you've worked with other companies that are not as interesting of a brand and as successful. Is there any advice for
34:45folks to get someone over the line to even talk that works? And you know, I imagine it's all very particular and you want to be just any advice there. >> Yeah, I think it's really spending a lot of time up front to get a sense of what could be uh engaging for them. So, who might that be and what might that topic be? And so, there's very There are There are