Your startup’s growth depends on its talent. The pool of Data & AI talent in Belgium is small and demand is high. Large businesses have the budgets to move fast, and when a large tech company can offer high salaries and eye-watering signing bonuses, you feel priced out before the conversation has even begun.

So, if you're a start-up who’s hiring and wondering how to attract data and AI talent against competitors with deep pockets, you're in the right place. In this blog, we’ll explore what you can capitalise on to compete.

 

Why Start-Ups Assume They Can't Compete for Data & AI Talent

I hear the same concern from start-up leaders again and again

“We want the best talent, but the big companies will always win.”

On the surface, this makes sense and you rule yourself out too early, assuming candidates won’t be interested, you lower the bar, or delay hiring altogether. But from my experience the reality is that compensation is only part of the picture for candidates and always not the deciding factor.

The belief that you “can’t compete” usually comes from looking at the market through a purely financial lens, rather than understanding what actually motivates experienced data and AI professionals at this stage of their careers.

 

Salary Isn't Everything: But Transparency Is

From a candidate’s point of view, uncertainty is a red flag. And unfortunately, it’s something we see often when hiring for start-ups.

Hiring process

Start-ups are understandably cautious; one wrong hire can have a big impact on a small business. But top Data & AI candidates will be speaking to multiple companies at once, moving too slowly with five interview stages is one of the quickest ways to lose them. There are candidates who will accept their first good offer because it’s decisive.

Misaligning job descriptions

Strong candidates don’t expect perfection or rigid role boundaries in a start-up environment. What they do expect is honesty. They want to know what problems they’ll be solving and how the role might progress. You can say “we don’t have everything figured out yet, but here’s what we know and here’s why it’s exciting,” to build trust rather than doubt.

Decision making

Candidates want clarity on where they are at each stage of the hiring process and the timelines of each step. In Data & AI hiring and really in any hiring, transparency equals confidence.

 

What Data & AI Talent Actually Values in a Role

When I speak to Data & AI candidates about their next move, what consistently comes up is the quality of the work and the impact they can have.

Data Stack

Data and AI specialists are drawn to roles where they can build and work with up-to-date tools, rather than maintaining legacy systems. Interestingly, many start-ups are actually better positioned here, you can design your data stack from scratch instead of working around years of technical debt.

Growth and learning

Strong candidates want for teams where they can learn from other engineers and scientists in the field. They want the chance to learn by working alongside people who are better than them in certain areas. A small but high-calibre team is often far better than being one of many in a larger organisation.

Industry and problem space

Data & AI professionals are motivated by working on problems that feel real and impactful. Sectors like aviation, pharmaceuticals, energy, and other data-rich industries regularly come up in conversations because the challenges are interesting and the outcomes matter.

Building from the ground up

Many candidates are excited to be part of a company in its early stages where they can see their work directly affect the direction of the business. Being one of the first Data/ AI hires means their voice is heard and their contributions are visible.

Career progression

In start-ups, progression is about growing with the business. Candidates understand that joining early often means more responsibility faster, they can step into leadership roles sooner than they would in a larger organisation.

 

How We Help Start-Ups Compete for Data & AI Talent

Job Descriptions

As a start-up, you don’t fail to hire because the role isn’t good, you fail because the benefits of the opportunity aren’t being communicated.

We take the time to understand your business beyond the job description: the product, the growth plans, the risks, and what success in the role actually looks like. Your opportunity will be positioned in an honest and compelling way, helping candidates understand why the role matters and the impact they can have.

When hiring Data or AI talent for the first time, it’s difficult to articulate everything that sits beneath a generic job spec. We help turn a loosely defined role into a clear, credible opportunity that the right candidates are willing to take a risk on.

 

Trust and Market Insight

Data & AI candidates are selective, and they don’t engage with every job they see.

Because we speak to this market every day, candidates trust our judgement. When we say an opportunity is well suited to them, they listen. That trust allows us to have more honest conversations about risk, progression, equity, and long-term potential before candidates ever reach interview stage.

Alongside this, we provide real-time insight into the market: what candidates are prioritising, how competitive your process is, and where you may need to adapt to secure the right hire. This keeps start-ups informed and realistic, rather than reacting too late in a fast-moving market.

 

We Get the Right Data & AI Talent in Front of You, Fast

If you’re a start-up trying to hire Data & AI talent, speed and clarity are everything and the cost of getting it wrong is too high.

That’s where we come in. We help you move decisively without rushing into the wrong hire by bringing you candidates who are technically and culturally aligned to your business. Instead of spending weeks screening profiles and second guessing yourself, you start conversations with people who you know are already engaged and interested in what you’re building.

You’ll have access to a wider market. Some of the best Data & AI professionals aren’t actively looking for roles so they wouldn’t see a start-up opportunity on a job board. Through our network and ongoing conversations with passive candidates, we’ll put your roles in front of the right people who you wouldn’t otherwise reach - faster and with confidence.

If you’re hiring Data & AI talent, let’s have a chat.