Getting hired at smaller startups can be easier than at larger companies, and once you're in, you can connect with talented individuals and soak up the culture.

As a small company, your responsiveness and personal availability can be a significant advantage over larger companies, which often lack direct access to decision-makers.

To stand out, provide personalized attention to candidates from multiple team members, which is something that doesn't happen at larger companies.

When scaling a company in a smaller city, the biggest challenge is often finding enough local talent to support growth.

Emphasize the unique learning opportunities at your startup, as candidates can gain real decision-making experience that they wouldn't get at larger companies.

Larger companies tend to have a smaller, more limited tech stack, while smaller companies often utilize a wider variety of tools, with a common reliance on open-source solutions.

Larger companies tend to rely more on brain teasers in interviews, which can introduce noise, but they often use them as a standard part of their hiring process. Bigger companies focus more on measuring innate ability rather than specific coding skills for their codebase, while smaller companies prioritize immediate productivity in specific technologies like Ruby on Rails.

Understand the biases of those giving you career advice, especially from big companies, which may have ulterior motives in attracting talent.

The advantage of small teams and individuals over large companies is their agility.