Sebastián Caro, Hunty | From 0 to Millions With No Code, LatAm's Job Market, and Feedback as a Gift [Ep. 58]

The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.

No Code tools are a great option for reducing the technical barriers and the investment required to start a startup. Hunty is a great example of how, without programming code, you can start, iterate, and generate traction quickly, before raising capital and investing heavily in software development.

Today we spoke with Sebastián Caro, CEO and cofounder of Hunty, a platform that guides and accompanies candidates in a personalized way through their job search process.

Sebastián told us how Hunty was born with No Code tools that allowed it to iterate and find Product Market Fit before raising capital. We also talked about the structural reasons that explain high unemployment in Latin America, and the role of feedback in a startup’s culture.

To date, Hunty has raised more than 6 million dollars from venture capital funds such as Cometa, QED Investors, Kalei Ventures, and Newtopia VC.

Thanks to Santiago Lafaurie and Iván Escobar of Hunty for the excellent question suggestions.

What You Can Learn Today

The state of the labor market in Latin America
Advantages and disadvantages of using No Code tools
The role of feedback in a startup’s culture

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Youtube Timestamps*

About Sebastián and Hunty

[1:24] - How did Sebastián get into the world of startups?
- He started small businesses back in school
- In college he founded the first virtual flower shop in Colombia
- He created Data Freaks together with his current partners
- A large part of his inspiration to build in technology came from Rappi
[5:26] - What is Hunty?
- An average professional in LatAm takes 7 months to find a job
- Hunty prepares candidates to look for work and supports them through the process
- It was born in January 2021 and they have helped 1500 people in their first year
- In January 2022 they sold USD $250 thousand
- Hunty is growing at a monthly rate of 45%
- They help 230 people a month get a job

The Labor Market

[8:48] - High unemployment in Latin America
- Education is misaligned with what the market needs
- Comparison with education systems around the world
- The sciences in Latin America are not applied, but social
- 75% of university graduates in LatAm studied social sciences
- 46% of graduates never practice what they studied
- Looking for a job is a structured process, it cannot be improvised
- Nobody is taught how to look for a job
[15:03] - The role of universities, and preparation for the working world
- LatAm’s conception of science is different from that of other countries
- Universities have not been able to prepare their students for the future
- A recent graduate must show they are hungry to take on the world
- Before preparing a resume, you need to understand what you want
- Definition of goals, alignment of interests, and attraction channels
- Apply to companies proactively
- Storytelling: empathy and authority
- “Looking for a job is a job”

No Code at Hunty: 0 to 1 and Scaling

[23:24] - No Code at Hunty
- Hunty started with a candidate database made in Excel
- Felipe Villamarín, cofounder of Rappi, recommended Bubble to Hunty’s founders
- HelloGuru developed Hunty’s first MVP
- Integration of tools such as Notion, ClickUp, Webflow, and Wix
[29:21] - Advantages and disadvantages of using No Code
- Very agile development
- Fast and cheap iteration
- Experimentation with the product
- There are limitations of traffic and features
[31:30] - Balance between speed and focus
- Hunty has chosen to have a very clear focus
- Hunty’s key metric is the number of people who get a job
- Do one thing at a time, and do it very well
[33:53] - When should you start programming with code?
- Do not stop using No Code before you have Product Market Fit
- Testing features to decide whether to scale them to the development team
- A company that is scaling should not set No Code aside

Feedback as a Gift

[37:14] - Feedback in Hunty’s culture
- It is a cross-cutting value in the company
- As a founder, you need to know when you are doing things wrong
- Feedback is necessary and mandatory
- You have to surround yourself with people who force you to be better
[41:14] - How do you scale a feedback culture?
- Culture is built by setting the example
- Attract people with a growth mindset
- Surround yourself with people who share the same values
[43:44] - How do you give feedback assertively?
- Connect deeply with people
- Always speak directly

Tweet Round

[45:40] -
- Recommended books: El Método Lean Startup by Eric Ries, Blitzcalling by Reid Hoffman, What You Do is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, El Otoño del Patriarca by Gabriel García Márquez, Opio en las Nubes by Rafael Chaparro Madiedo.
- Founders to interview: Jerónimo Uribe of La Haus, Zack Oschin of Elenas, and Andrés Sarrazola of Ayenda

Episode Mentions

You can find Sebastián on LinkedIn

Books mentioned: Basta de Historias by Andrés Oppenheimer, Reimaginando a Colombia by McKinsey & Company, Cuentos Chinos by Andrés Oppenheimer, 12 Reglas para Vivir by Jordan Peterson, El Método Lean Startup by Eric Ries, Blitzcalling by Reid Hoffman, What You Do is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz, The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, El Otoño del Patriarca by Gabriel García Márquez, Opio en las Nubes by Rafael Chaparro Madiedo.

Founders to interview: Jerónimo Uribe of La Haus, Zack Oschin of Elenas, and Andrés Sarrazola of Ayenda (listen to the episode with Andrés here)

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