Founder-caliber talent search

First talent partner
for ambitious startups

Bring in the right builder in five introductions or fewer.

Ringg.ai logo
Senior Audio Research EngineerHired in 3 intros
Aqqrue.com logo
Founding AI EngineerHired in 2 intros
OutFlo.io logo
Founding Backend EngineerHired in 5 intros

Sound familiar?

You ask for referrals. Dry well.

You end up relying on the same small network of past batchmates and colleagues, and it rarely surfaces new, high-caliber builders.

You post the role. Floodgates open.

1000+ applications on LinkedIn - almost none who've actually built in high ownership and fast moving environments.

You interview them. Nothing clicks.

AI-written resumes and tools like Cheatly let candidates game early rounds, until you interview them deep enough to see the gap.

You make an offer. They disappear.

Competing with FAANG-level compensation on a startup budget feels impossible.

You bring someone in. It doesn’t work.

A few weeks in, you realize they need structure and handholding just to get work done.

How we work

1. Role alignment

We understand your product, team, and the kind of builder who will succeed in the role.

2. Target sourcing

We tap into our curated network and run targeted outreach — builders who have built and shipped in fast-moving teams.

3. Curated shortlist

We evaluate technical depth, ownership, and intent before introducing anyone — usually 3 to 5 strong matches.

4. Offer closure

We stay involved through interviews, feedback, negotiation, and onboarding until they join.

What founders say about working with us

We had a wonderful experience working with Shubham and the Mowka team. Shubham was personally involved right from the start and spent a lot of time deeply understanding our requirements. He is very thoughtful and passionate about finding the right fit for every startup. With Mowka, you can rest assured that you won't need to sift through 100 profiles and sit through 20 interviews before finding the right candidate. We loved the first engineer Shubham introduced to us and rolled out an offer in less than a week. We continue to work very closely with Shubham and couldn't speak more highly of him and the team.

Surya Suresh

Surya Suresh

Co-founder

Aqqrue

Bringing Shubham on board for our hiring was one of the best moves we made. There's a real relief in working with someone who's a great engineer himself and has hired great people before. He actually understands what you need and shortlists candidates that are genuinely relevant to the role. What sets him apart is the trust factor — he personally interviews everyone before recommending them, both on culture fit and technical depth. So by the time a candidate reaches you, the bar has already been set. Our experience at OutFlo working with Shubham and Mowka has been excellent. Highly recommended for any founder looking to make critical early hires.

Tushar Singla

Tushar Singla

Founder & CEO

OutFlo

Trusted by founders backed by Y Combinator, Arkam Ventures, Groww Founder Fund, Kunal Shah, and other top global investors.

Why Founders partner with us

Built for founders

We’ve built and hired for fast-moving teams ourselves — we understand these challenges firsthand.

Only fit, no fluff

We aim to get you the right candidate within 3–5 introductions — no resume dumps or weekly shortlists.

Founder-caliber evaluation

We focus on what actually matters — context, ownership, and execution in fast-moving teams.

Hires who stick around

We only introduce builders who own problems end-to-end and act as force multipliers for your team.

No offer ghosting

We align intent, expectations, and compensation upfront so candidates stay committed through the process.

Honest always

We don’t oversell candidates or hide trade-offs — just honest conversations about what’s actually right for the role.

Roles we help you hire for

Founding Engineer

Owns entire product and makes architectural decisions that last.

AI Engineer

Builds agentic workflows, LLM integrations, and AI-powered production systems.

Backend & Infrastructure

Builds scalable, resilient systems and owns the infrastructure behind them.

Full-Stack Engineer

Builds across the stack and owns product outcomes, not just tickets.

AI Research Engineer

Specialist in AI domain (audio, CV, NLP etc) — owns it from research to production.

Head of Engineering

Scales the team, owns architecture, and keeps engineering velocity high.

Shubham Kansal

Shubham Kansal

Founder & CEO, Mowka

IIT Roorkee · ex-Rephrase AI (Acquired by Adobe) · ex-Amazon · ex-Apollo

Over 11+ years in engineering, I’ve realized the best teams all operate the same way: every role is high-stakes, and each person owns their outcomes with genuine trust and autonomy.

The best builders don’t just execute — they raise the confidence and ambition of everyone around them.

But builders like that are usually deep in the trenches somewhere else, so they rarely come through recruiters, agencies, or inbound. Over 7+ years building and leading teams across AI and deep tech domains, I’ve learned that finding them takes real time, focus, and judgment — going direct, working trusted referrals, and looking past the résumé to someone’s journey, product thinking, and intent.

After talking to 50+ founders and technical leaders, it was clear everyone faces the same challenge — that’s why I started Mowka, the first partner founders turn to for critical hires, so quality never has to slip as they scale.

Whether it’s your first hire or your tenth, I want to be the person you call when getting it right matters most.

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Frequently asked questions

Bring in your next game changer

Try us with your toughest role.

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· No upfront fees · Pay only after they join