You would not run finance without QuickBooks. Why run hiring without infrastructure? STAQD delivers complete talent acquisition infrastructure for startups. 10x faster than a consultancy. 4x cheaper than a full-time hire. AI-powered in 48 hours or consultant-led in 2-4 weeks.
Built for every growth stage
The Problem
Most startups are choosing between bad options. STAQD is the one they didn't know existed.
No infrastructure. No process. No playbooks. Just an invoice for every single hire, forever.
You need the output, not the headcount. Full-time hires take months to ramp while your roles sit open.
Deloitte and McKinsey charge $100K+ for a 6-month project. STAQD delivers the same output in 48 hours to 4 weeks at a fraction of the cost.
STAQD is the fourth option. 10x faster than a consultancy. 4x cheaper than a full-time hire. And unlike agencies, we build infrastructure you keep forever.
Who It's For
We do not work with enterprise. We do not do everything for everyone. We built this for teams at the inflection point between scrappy and scalable.
You just raised. You have 15-30 roles to fill this year. Your founder is still screening resumes in their inbox. You need infrastructure before you need a recruiter.
You have some hiring happening but no system. Every hiring manager runs their own process. Quality is inconsistent. You are losing candidates because you move too slowly.
The CEO or COO is still the de facto recruiter. That was fine at 10 people. At 40, it is a bottleneck. You need to delegate hiring without losing quality.
Already have recruiters? STAQD works as a hybrid model too. We build the infrastructure, your team runs inside it. Use our consultants for surge hiring, or use your own recruiters with our frameworks, scorecards, and playbooks. Your choice.
The Difference
See the Difference: Job Description
GENERIC JD (What Most Startups Post)
"We are a fast-paced, dynamic startup seeking a rockstar engineer to join our world-class team. Must be a self-starter with a passion for innovation. Competitive salary and great culture. Apply now!"
No salary range. No specifics. No one applies.
STAQD JD (Built From Your Intake)
"You will design and ship payment infrastructure for 2M+ users. You will own the checkout flow, mentor 2 junior engineers, and present architecture decisions to leadership. $165-195K + 0.15% equity. Remote-first, async culture."
Specific. Honest. Candidates self-select in.
How It Works
Whether you choose consultant-led or AI-powered, the process is built for speed.
Structured intake captures your company stage, culture, roles, growth targets, and hiring philosophy. AI-driven or live with a strategist.
We construct your entire TA infrastructure. ATS, job descriptions, interview frameworks, scorecards, playbooks, compliance, and reporting.
Your hiring function goes live. Everything configured, documented, and ready for your team or our consultants to execute immediately.
Our vetted consultants source, screen, and close candidates using the infrastructure we built. You pay 20% per placement. That is it.
Week by Week
STAQD Pro timeline shown. STAQD AI compresses this into 48 hours.
Kickoff call, company deep dive, org chart review, role prioritization, culture and EVP workshop, ATS evaluation.
ATS configuration, JD library creation, interview guide development, scorecard templates, compliance framework setup.
Recruiting playbooks, sourcing strategy docs, hiring manager training materials, KPI dashboard setup, employer brand kit.
Full walkthrough, team enablement sessions, consultant network activation, first candidates in pipeline, 30-day support begins.
Pricing
Both tiers deliver a fully operational hiring function. The difference is how fast and how hands-on.
Try Before You Commit
STAQD Starter: $500
Get 3 custom job descriptions and 1 interview framework for your most urgent role. Delivered in 24 hours. If you upgrade to a full buildout, the $500 is credited toward your package.
Claim Your Starter PackageStrategic partner in the room. White glove delivery.
Fixed scope buildout. No surprises.
What is included:
Available add-ons:
Additional JD templates: $500 each
Full ATS setup + migration: $3-5K
Custom employer brand kit: $5K
Advanced comp benchmarking: $3K
Extra training sessions: $1K each
Why our consultants outperform in-house recruiters: They are specialists with 5-15 years of experience, pre-trained on your frameworks, and work inside the infrastructure we just built. No ramp time, no benefits cost, no fixed overhead. Pay only when they deliver a hire.
80% of what Pro delivers, in 5% of the time. Launch in 48 hours.
One-time buildout, powered by AI + human QA
Quality Guarantee
If you are not satisfied, we will refund 50% and offer a $5K credit toward STAQD Pro. 7-day money-back window.
Ongoing Support
STAQD Retainer: $2,000/month
Unlimited infrastructure updates. New JDs as you open roles. Quarterly health checks. Priority access to our consultant network. Annual playbook refresh. Cancel anytime.
Need strategic leadership? Fractional Head of TA available at $10,000/month. Full strategic oversight, hiring manager coaching, and direct management of your recruiting function.
Compare
| Feature | STAQD Pro | STAQD AI |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery Process | Live sessions with strategist | AI-driven intake questionnaire |
| ATS Setup | ✓ Recommendation + config guide (full setup +$3-5K) | ✓ Recommendation + guide |
| Job Description Library | ✓ 5 custom templates (add'l $500 each) | ✓ AI-generated, industry-tuned |
| Interview Frameworks | ✓ 3 types (IC, manager, leadership) | ✓ Template-based, all role types |
| Hiring Manager Training | ✓ 2 live sessions included | -- Self-service guides |
| Recruiting Playbooks | ✓ 2 playbooks (intake + pipeline) | ✓ Full playbook suite |
| Employer Brand Kit | Add-on: +$5K | ✓ Template kit |
| Comp Benchmarking | Add-on: +$3K | ✓ Market data report |
| Quality Assurance | Senior strategist builds everything | AI generates, human strategist reviews |
| Post-Launch Support | 30 days included | 2 weeks email support |
| Satisfaction Guarantee | Scope-locked, no surprises | 50% refund + $5K Pro credit within 7 days |
| Delivery Timeline | 2-4 weeks | 48 hours |
| Investment | $25,000 base | $5,000+ |
| Placement Fee | 20% per hire | 20% per hire |
What You Get
Selection, workflow design, team permissions, and pipeline stages. Operational from day one.
Custom JDs for every role, written for your industry, voice, and compensation philosophy.
Structured guides, scorecards, panel designs, and debrief templates by role type and level.
Careers copy, EVP messaging, social templates, and candidate-facing content that converts.
SOPs for hiring managers. Sourcing strategies, intake workflows, and offer processes.
Time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, pipeline velocity, and quality metrics. Your goals, measured.
EEO, OFCCP, and regional hiring compliance. Offer letters and onboarding templates included.
Market-rate analysis and compensation band recommendations for every role in your plan.
Day 1 through Day 90 structured plans. Checklists, milestones, and manager guides.
Integrations
We build on top of your existing stack. No rip and replace.
Scenarios
These are the exact situations STAQD was designed to solve.
You have budget but no infrastructure. Every day without a system is a day your competitors are closing the candidates you have not even reached yet.
Founder-led hiring does not scale. Every hour your CEO spends screening is an hour not spent on product, customers, or fundraising.
That is $500K for 10 hires. And when the agency leaves, you have no process, no playbooks, and no infrastructure. You are starting from zero every quarter.
ROI Calculator
Compare your current hiring costs against a STAQD buildout.
Results
"We went from no recruiting process to a fully operational hiring machine in two weeks. STAQD delivered what our last Head of TA could not do in six months."
Series A, Fintech
"The ROI was immediate. We saved over $120K in agency fees in our first quarter and now own the entire infrastructure. This should be the default for every startup."
Series B, SaaS
"STAQD AI blew our minds. 48 hours and we had JDs, interview guides, scorecards, and a full ATS recommendation. We were interviewing candidates by Friday."
Seed Stage, Hardware
"Our CEO was spending 15 hours a week on hiring. After STAQD Pro, she spends two. The system runs itself and every hire is higher quality than before."
Growth Stage, Biotech
Built by a Builder
STAQD was founded by a talent acquisition leader who has built and scaled hiring functions at Big Tech companies, Fortune 500 organizations, and multiple high-growth startups across three continents.
The frameworks inside STAQD come from leading global recruiting teams in AI/ML engineering, scaling enterprise-level TA functions, and standing up infrastructure from scratch at companies expanding across AMER, APAC, and EMEA.
Every template. Every workflow. Every decision tree. Battle-tested at scale, now available to every company that refuses to settle for bad hires.
FAQ
A complete, ready-to-use talent acquisition infrastructure. That includes ATS setup and configuration, a custom job description library, structured interview frameworks and scorecards, recruiting playbooks and SOPs, KPI dashboards, compliance templates, compensation benchmarking, employer brand kit, and onboarding workflows. Everything a Head of TA would build in 6-12 months, delivered in weeks or days.
STAQD Pro is consultant-led. A senior TA strategist works directly with your team through live discovery sessions, builds fully customized infrastructure, and provides hiring manager training. It takes 2-4 weeks and starts at $25K. STAQD AI uses artificial intelligence to generate your infrastructure based on a structured intake questionnaire. It delivers in 48 hours and starts at $5K. Both include access to the same consultant placement network at 20% per hire.
After your infrastructure is built, you can activate our vetted consultant network to fill your roles. They use the infrastructure we built (your ATS, your JDs, your scorecards) to source, screen, and present candidates. You pay 20% of the hire's first-year base salary per placement. There is no obligation to use this service, but most clients do because the consultants are already trained on their system.
Yes. Everything we build is yours to keep forever. Your ATS, your JDs, your playbooks, your scorecards. Unlike agencies that charge per hire and leave nothing behind, STAQD builds assets that live inside your company. You own it all.
We work with all major platforms including Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby, Workday, Paylocity, BambooHR, Rippling, JazzHR, and more. If you do not have an ATS yet, we will recommend and set one up based on your company size, budget, and growth trajectory.
With STAQD AI, you can have infrastructure in 48 hours and candidates in your pipeline within the first week. With STAQD Pro, the buildout takes 2-4 weeks, with consultant placement activation happening in week 3 or 4. Most Pro clients see their first qualified candidates before the buildout is even complete.
No. While we have deep expertise in tech, AI/ML, and engineering recruiting, our frameworks are industry-agnostic. We have built TA infrastructure for companies in biotech, fintech, hardware, retail, healthcare, and professional services. The methodology adapts to your industry, roles, and hiring culture.
Even better. STAQD gives your existing team the infrastructure and tools they need to be effective. Instead of spending months building systems, they can focus on executing from day one with playbooks, templates, and dashboards already in place. Many clients use STAQD to level up their current team rather than replacing them.
Absolutely. Many clients start with STAQD AI to get infrastructure quickly, then upgrade to Pro for deeper customization, live training, and strategic advisory as they scale. The AI buildout gives you a strong foundation that the Pro service can refine and expand.
RPOs are ongoing retainers where an external team runs your recruiting for you. STAQD builds the infrastructure and hands it to you. You own it. Your team (or our consultants) runs it. There are no monthly retainers, no multi-year contracts, and no dependency. We are building your capability, not renting ours.
Free TA Readiness Assessment
Find out exactly where your hiring function stands and what infrastructure you need. Takes 2 minutes. Results sent to your inbox.
No spam. Just your assessment results and one follow-up.
Free Resources
Download these tools and use them whether or not you work with us.
Enter your headcount goals and get a realistic hiring timeline, budget estimate, and recruiter capacity plan.
Get Your Plan →The exact scorecard framework used by top startups. Calibrated scoring rubric, evaluation criteria, and decision matrix.
Download Free →Greenhouse vs. Lever vs. Ashby vs. Rippling. Pros, cons, pricing, and which one is right for your stage.
Get the Guide →A step-by-step guide to building TA infrastructure on your own. With or without STAQD. Because we would rather you have infrastructure than not.
Register Free →For Investors
Partner with STAQD to offer TA infrastructure as part of your portfolio support. Your companies get a $5K credit toward a STAQD buildout. They hire faster, scale smarter, and stop wasting runway on broken recruiting.
We work with Series A and B companies. By the time they need to hire 15-30+ people, the ones with infrastructure in place fill roles 40% faster.
Partner With Us40%
faster time-to-fill with proper TA infrastructure
$5K
credit for portfolio companies
Book a free strategy call. We will assess your hiring needs
and recommend the right buildout for your stage.