Networking is a crucial part of raising money, landing clients, and marketing your business, especially in the early days of growing a startup. At The Swarm, we help founders and startup leaders bring together their collective networks to power recruiting, sales, and fundraising. Needless to say, we believe in the power of networks to accelerate company building. Below, we dive into why super connectors are critical to your company’s success, how to identify them within your network, and how best to leverage them.

Lately, it’s felt like every single tech giant out there has had major layoffs — including Amazon, Coinbase, Intel, Meta, Stripe, Twitter, and others. With these layoffs and a looming recession dominating news, hiring planning might feel harder to navigate than ever. Startups aren’t sure if they should scoop up laid-off talent, slow down recruiting, or freeze hiring altogether. So, how can you best navigate this changing landscape? And how does network recruiting come into play?

Today, referral programs are one of the most powerful recruiting strategies available to companies. Referrals are 85 times more likely to be hired than inbound candidates, over twice as fast to hire, and they stay with companies — on average — 70% longer than non-referrals.

Another day, another tech industry layoff. At least, that’s how it’s felt lately, with tech titans’ layoffs and hiring freezes dominating headlines. If you’re a startup watching this all happen, you may be wondering what this all means for your own growth and hiring — especially as the stock market falls and interest rates rise.

The Swarm enabled uMed to automate and scale relationship-based outreach with a centralized, searchable combined network organized by strength of relationships. By leveraging their extended network, uMed uncovered new opportunities and faster conversions in both business development and fundraising.

They can lean on existing relationships and shared experiences, on top of fit and intent signals, to move deals forward and accelerate their growth.

Quorum1's use of The Swarm exemplifies how network-driven organizations can harness the power of their extended networks to enhance their operations, foster collaboration, and create more opportunities.

Using The Swarm, 500 Emerging Europe is able to unify and search through their collective network. They're already using the platform to introduce founders to top talent and plan to use it for sales and other high-potential introductions.

With the recent economic downturn, many startups have slowed — if not altogether frozen — their hiring plans. And understandably so: as funding rounds stretch longer and inflation impacts people’s spending, leaders are keeping a more watchful eye on budgets. However, even if your hiring has slowed, your recruiting function should never stop.

If you’re a first-time founder, the thought of hiring your first 10 employees can seem daunting. Compared to an established company, you don’t have brand recognition, endless budgets, or teams of recruiters available to help. It might, in fact, be just you at this stage.

The San Francisco-based company announced today that it raised $8 million in funding to expand its relationship mapping technology. The latest round includes participation from HubSpot Ventures, Motivate Ventures, and TRAC VC, signaling growing demand for network mapping tech that enables connections and warm introductions.

Launching on Product Hunt isn’t just about showing up, it’s about showing up ready. Here's the play-by-play on what actually worked for. Just actionable insights, templates, and timing tips to maximize your reach, visibility, and support—so your Product Hunt launch actually delivers.

The Swarm’s integration with Clay makes this easier than ever, allowing you to find warm intro paths into the companies and people you need to reach. Instead of relying solely on cold emails, you can leverage your extended network for high-quality connections that increase engagement and conversion rates.

We're thrilled to announce that The Swarm has received an investment from 500 Global, a venture capital fund with $2.7B assets under management and 49 unicorns spread across more than 20 countries. This funding will help us scale our capabilities and build the future of network recruiting and propel our vision for Network Relationship Management (NRM).