1. Pick a niche small enough to own
General job boards lose to LinkedIn and Indeed. Pick one role and one context, like 'Rust engineers at small startups' or 'remote QA testers for indie game studios'. A good test: can you name 20 companies that hire for it and 3 communities where those candidates hang out? If not, narrow further.
2. Seed listings yourself before asking anyone
An empty board converts nobody. Find 30 to 50 real open roles in your niche from company careers pages, Hacker News 'Who is hiring?' threads, and Wellfound, and post them with a link to the original application. Mark them clearly as sourced so candidates know where they apply. Refresh weekly so nothing is stale.
3. Go after small companies, not big ones
Big companies have recruiters and ATS contracts. A 5 to 40 person startup often has a founder writing the job post themselves and no budget for LinkedIn job slots. Search LinkedIn for 'hiring' posts from founders or CTOs at small companies in your niche, and check YC's Work at a Startup list.
4. Email hiring founders with a free first listing
Write short, specific emails to the person who posted the role. Example: 'Hi Sam, saw you are hiring a backend engineer in Go. I run a small board just for Go roles at early startups. I already listed your role, linked to your careers page. Want me to edit anything, or add your other open roles? Free, no catch.' Aim for 15 a day.
5. Show up where candidates already are
Post in places your candidates read: niche subreddits like r/cscareerquestions, r/gamedev, or r/forhire, relevant Discord and Slack communities, and newsletters' reader threads. Read each community's rules first. Share a useful roundup, like 'Every remote junior frontend role posted this week, 23 roles', not a bare link to your homepage.
6. Start a weekly email digest
A job board's real asset is its email list, not its traffic. Add a simple signup: 'Get new [niche] jobs every Monday.' Send it every week even with 40 subscribers. Employers care about how many targeted people see their role, and a list is easier to prove than page views.
7. Charge as soon as one employer gets a hire
When an employer tells you a candidate came from your board, ask them for a short note you can share and offer a paid featured slot on the next role. Keep pricing simple, one flat price per listing. Your first paid listing usually comes from a company you already helped for free.
8. Keep a daily outreach rhythm
Every day: add new listings, send 15 employer emails, post one useful thing in one community, and log replies in a spreadsheet. Consistency matters more than any single channel. Hulby, an AI cofounder, runs this kind of daily prospecting and outreach for founders who want help keeping it going.
People asking this right now
Real, public posts from the last few weeks. Each one is somebody you could help today.
Mistakes to skip
- Launching a general job board with no niche.
- Waiting for employers to post before the board has any listings.
- Pitching enterprise recruiters instead of small-company founders.
- Spamming communities with links instead of useful job roundups.
Want this done for your job board, every day?
Hulby finds the people asking for what you built, writes every reply and email, and keeps you on it until they pay. Free to start.
Find my first customersQuestions
Should I focus on employers or job seekers first?
Listings first. Seed them yourself, then candidates have a reason to visit and employers have a reason to care.
Is it OK to list jobs from other sites?
Yes, if you link to the original application and label the source. Many small companies are glad for the extra reach.
When should I start charging?
After an employer has made or nearly made a hire through you. Then offer a paid featured listing.
How many subscribers do I need before employers care?
Fewer than you think if the niche is tight. A few hundred relevant candidates beats thousands of random ones.