Hey CoffeeSpacers! It’s Hazim here :) Q3 was a big one for us: we soft-launched early hiring, crossed 20,000 users, and are now closing in on 1.5 million swipes. We also brought on Jim Benton (ex-CEO of Chorus & Apollo.io) as an advisor, and wrapped our $500K pre-seed upsize.On the product side: we shipped smarter profiles, a new (beta) search experience, and major improvements across onboarding and matching, plus laid the groundwork for much more in Q4. Let’s dive in! :)
📈 Growth
🚀 20K+ Users, 1.4M Swipes, 35K Matches – and Counting
- The CoffeeSpace network continues to grow; now over 20,000 founders, builders, and early hires shaping the future of startups.
- On average, it takes 41 swipes → 9 invites (22%) → 1 match (11%), and together, you’ve already created 35,000 matches from over 1.4 million swipes.
💼 Soft-Launched Early Hiring on CoffeeSpace
- We’ve quietly rolled out early-stage hiring – helping founders find their first 1–10 teammates, not just cofounders.
- We’ve onboarded ~500 high-signal talent profiles, and 200+ founders are actively hiring –mostly for founding engineers, designers, GTM leads, and AI/ML roles. We’re refining the experience based on early feedback before a broader launch.
🤝 Welcoming Jim Benton as Our Advisor
- We're thrilled to welcome Jim Benton – former CEO of Chorus.ai (acquired by ZoomInfo for $575M) and former CEO of Apollo.io – as an official advisor to CoffeeSpace.
- We met Jim through StartX S25, where he leads Alignment – the operating system for high-velocity teams. His frameworks (from OKRs to Top 6s) have been a game changer for us, and we highly recommend checking it out.
🕸️ User Demographics (click here for granular country/regional data)
- Portfolio: 50.6% operations, sales, design : 49.4% engineering, AI/ML
- Idea Status: 55.6% open to ideas/exploring : 44.4% committed
- Prior Startup Experience: 5% exited : 33% founded : 36% worked : 26% no prior exp.
- Geography: 45% North America : 27% Asia : 18% Europe : 4% Africa : 6% Others
📱 Product
🆕 New Features & Launches
- Early Hiring: You can now show if you’re open to being hired, or actively recruiting!
We’ve added a new “Talent” archetype and “Recruiting” tag so it’s easier to find the right people at the right stage. You can filter by these in Preferences to get more relevant matches. (Exhibit A) - Beta Search Feature: We’ve rolled out a brand-new search experience to beta users – this early release helps us gather feedback before opening it up to everyone (and we’re very excited about it!). (Exhibit B)
- Smarter Profiles: Profile cards now highlight what the other person is looking for, making it easier to spot mutual interest at a glance.
- We’ve added a new top bar and pop-up to help you set your Preferences. Expect 5–10x better match quality when you do! (Exhibit C)
🛠️ Bug Fixes & Improvements
- Resolved reCAPTCHA error after phone number entry during onboarding.
- Improved OTP flow with clearer error message for a smoother verification process.
- Minor UI/UX improvements across Profile and Preferences sections
🔭 Product Roadmap (Q4 2025)
- Semantic Search (Beta → Public): We’re gearing up to launch public access to our semantic search, enabling nuanced, natural-language queries like “ex-founder open to AI fintech in SF.”
- Advanced Location Filtering: Filter by city or country, and discover candidates open to remote roles or relocation – expanding your matching pool with greater precision.
- Smarter Profile Data: Highlight builder traits like side projects, indie apps, and open-source work. Soon, users can upload resumes, portfolios, or project links for richer signal.
- Jobs & Ideas Section: We’re expanding beyond just profiles – soon, you’ll be able to browse open roles and startup ideas directly in-app. Founders can showcase what they’re building and who they need, helping the right collaborators find them more organically within the matching flow.
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📣 Extras
💰 $500K Pre-Seed Round Closed, Bringing Total Amount Raised to $1M
- Closed a $500K upsize round backed by founders who've built 9-figure companies, as well as strategic angels from top institutions like Meta, Sand Hill Angels, YC, and more
🌲 Redwoods Team Retreat
- Took our first-ever team retreat to Redwood National Park – hikes, playlists, Codenames battles, and lots of laughter :)
📣 Spotlighted Pieces
- Want a glimpse behind the scenes of what it really took to get here? Read Carin’s post – it’s honest, raw, and a reminder that every success hides a hundred setbacks.
- From Struggling Intern to Founding Engineer Offer in 4 Months: Here's the story by our intern Kang Jun on his journey at CoffeeSpace.
- Mercor AI Founders' Journey: The Powerhouse of Global Hiring
That’s a wrap! Keep building, stay bold, and feel free to reach out anytime with feedback or ideas :)
Cheers,
Hazim on behalf of the CoffeeSpace team
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