"Preference Only for Famous Startups"... Clear Polarization Among Developers

[IT Developer Battle] Full Efforts to Retain Developers Including Incentive Provision

In the startup industry, the polarization phenomenon caused by competition to recruit developers is becoming more pronounced. Since mainly startups that offer good conditions and are well-known are preferred, it is becoming increasingly difficult for early-stage startups to find developers. This is why many startups list talent acquisition as their top priority after successfully securing investment.

According to the startup industry on the 10th, due to the limited number of quality developers, the polarization of development personnel between famous startups and new startups is expected to intensify further. The CEO of a startup in its fifth year said, "It was originally not easy to recruit developers for startups, but it seems to be getting harder," adding, "There are more cases where large companies offer very aggressive conditions, leading to an increase in developer turnover and a worsening recruitment shortage."

A representative startup aggressively recruiting developers with exceptional conditions is Viva Republica. Operating the financial app ‘Toss,’ this company has been offering all experienced hires up to 1.5 times their previous company’s salary since October last year. They also grant stock options worth 100 million KRW. This compensation policy will be maintained until March this year. It is reported that many developers have actually chosen to change jobs under these conditions. Viva Republica plans to hire about 330 people by March, including around 120 in development roles.

Given this situation, other startups are also making every effort not to lose good developers. Fintech startup Bomap has introduced a system that rewards employees with 10 million KRW if they recommend an experienced developer who then joins the company. Finda offers experienced developers stock options worth 100 million KRW and a signing bonus of 10 million KRW upon joining. This recruitment, under these conditions, is currently at the interview stage, with a strategy to double the size of their development team by adding double-digit numbers of developers.

Wadiz, which operates a crowdfunding platform, plans to grant at least 10 million KRW in stock options to hires in the first half of the year and aims to recruit 100 developers within the year. Spoon Radio, operating the real-time personal audio broadcasting platform ‘Spoon,’ plans to announce soon a ‘talent development program’ that supports employee growth through industry-leading welfare benefits, aiming to hire more than 100 people across all job categories, including developers, within the year. This program includes a ‘global exchange work program’ where employees can be dispatched for three months to Spoon Radio’s overseas branches located in San Francisco, Tokyo, etc., with free accommodation provided locally if desired. A startup industry insider explained, "Starting with large companies, everyone is raising salaries and benefits, so it is also very costly to retain developers currently employed."

On the other hand, for many lesser-known startups, finding developers is like "catching stars in the sky." The skyrocketing market value has made it difficult for new startups to afford. Even when job postings are made, only low-skilled developers who are difficult to deploy immediately in the field apply. Even if they barely find skilled developers, those developers often leave for better offers. A startup CEO said, "The polarization of development personnel between famous startups and general startups is already underway," adding, "Most startups initially cannot find developers and outsource development. Without investment, it is difficult to hire skilled developers as internal staff."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.