Rely Hired Founding Engineers When It Mattered Most
Case Study: Rely
Founding engineering hires that unlocked customer onboarding
deep technical sourcing in a seriously competitive market
ongoing partnership to scale the engineering team and drive growth
Quick Facts
Company: Rely
Industry: AI / B2B SaaS / PropTech
Stage: Pre-Seed stage startup
Focus: Institutional real estate
Investors: Better Tomorrow Ventures
Partnership Model: Contingency recruiting
3 Hires Made (and counting): Founding Engineers (3x)
marketing a pre-seed company to top engineers
Before partnering with HigherPeople, Rely’s biggest hiring challenge was finding enough great candidates, particularly engineers, who were strong technically and aligned with the company’s values and boundary-pushing vision.
As an early-stage (pre-seed) company that was making their first non-Co-Founder hires, this person really mattered. Rely needed a recruiting partner who could tell the company’s story authentically while still operating in stealth mode, reach the right talent, and act as a thoughtful filter in a noisy market.
Prioritizing Fit Over Volume for Each Important Hire
HigherPeople partnered with Rely on a high-touch contingency search, investing time upfront to deeply understand the business, product, and values.
Rather than operating transactionally, HigherPeople focused on:
Storytelling: Translating Rely’s vision into compelling candidate messaging, even before a website existed, so their story resonated with top engineers
23% response rate, well above industry standard
Outbound Prospecting: Proactively sourcing high-quality technical talent
450 candidates uniquely sourced and contacted
Curation: Prioritizing alignment and long-term fit over volume
Only 32% of screened candidates passed to the hiring manager, 36% of submissions advanced past the first founder interview into the technical rounds
Feeling the urgency of a stretched early team: these critical roles were delivered in 6 and 4 weeks without sacrificing quality.
foundational hires that made a difference
The first two engineering hires were monumental. These hires enabled Rely to start onboarding larger customers and accelerate product execution during a critical stage of growth. Getting the right people in early allowed the team to avoid costly resets and build momentum.
Following the success of these initial hires, HigherPeople is now partnering with Rely to hire additional engineers as the company continues to scale.
higherpeople cares
What differentiated HigherPeople was the depth of partnership! Even within a contingency model, HigherPeople operated with care, curiosity, and transparency, taking the time to understand Rely’s business and offering perspective along the way. That level of engagement made it possible to identify candidates who were not just capable, but genuinely aligned.
rely says
“They [HigherPeople] communicated clearly, listened to our feedback, and refined the search so we could find the right people every step of the way.”