The Data Mix Podcast

The episode contains moderately useful insights about community-driven recruitment, particularly around response rates (25% vs 70%) and the seven-touch-point sales principle. However, much of the conversation devolves into anecdotal storytelling and general platitudes about trust and authenticity that an experienced operator would already understand. The specific product details and tactical approaches are somewhat thin relative to the runtime.

“traditionally when a recruiter messages a developer from a staffing company, like cold DMs, their response rate's only 25%. So if I message 10 people people, I'm only hearing back from two and a half percent of those people, right, or no two and a half people when you message somebody on the tort platform. So if you use us and this is why this is why my job in community is so important is. The response rate is 70%”

“It takes seven touch points for somebody to make a decision seven, right”

While community-based recruitment is a sensible alternative to traditional job boards, the core thesis - that trust and relationships matter in hiring - is not novel. The execution at Torque is relatively fresh, but the broader framing around human connection over automation and DevRel applied to talent are extensions of well-established thinking. George's comment about 'social proof' and referral-based hiring reflects existing industry consensus.

“what we're doing is like hey, here are 10 ways to write a resume. Hey, here are six ways to interview with a hiring manager. Hey, here's the best way to negotiate an offer”

“People trust who they trust. They like to buy from friends they like to buy from people they know. So I think community solves that”

Taylor Desseyn is a practitioner with relevant operational experience - he leads community at a funded staffing platform and has transitioned from recruiting to DevRel. His background is credible and his role gives him real visibility into hiring dynamics. However, he is not a C-level operator at major scale, and while knowledgeable about his domain, he lacks the seniority or breadth of experience of a VP of Engineering or Chief People Officer who has scaled hiring across multiple organizations.

“Taylor Desseyn is the VP of Global Community at Torque, and Torque is pioneering a new way of employment as the only way I can think community-based employment or community-sourced employment for tech and data”

“I truly have my dream job now and the ability to create DevRel for talent, which is what we're doing at Torque”

Taylor provides some concrete metrics: 25% response rate for cold outreach vs. 70% for platform messages, 70% profile completeness threshold, Discord scaled from 900 to 4,000 members in months, and a case study about hours saved for one unnamed client. However, most claims lack specificity: company names are rarely cited, placement rates are vague, financial data is absent, and case study details are thin. The Amsterdam conference and All Things Open are mentioned but without concrete outcome data.

“We have a case study of helping a client that we basically took away. I mean, the hours is ridiculous. It's like hundreds of hours of interviewing we like alleviated from this one client”

“we scaled our Discord from about 900 people to close to 4,000 people in a few months”

The hosts are friendly and engaged, but questioning lacks depth and follow-up rigor. When Taylor makes claims (e.g., about the 70% response rate advantage or platform effectiveness), the hosts accept them without pressing for evidence or methodology. Few challenging questions are posed about unit economics, failure rates, or competitive differentiation. The conversation often shifts to personal anecdotes rather than probing critical business assumptions. The hosts' closing commentary feels more like summary than interrogation.

“Wow, taylor, you mentioned um near shore capabilities. Just then be clear about the service. Are you actually providing a sort of business process BPO type service um in any form or fashion, or is it individual? contractors, consultants”

“But what about you must get and I'm going back to brian's comment about there are charlatans out there, there are people that will say they can do something. They'll maybe take the first couple of weeks of pay before somebody finds out that they're no good at the job. How are you screening for these?”