Mike Moriarty left the VC life to build Arsenal Pulse, a recruiting firm focused on defense, aerospace, and manufacturing. After years of being embedded with high-performing founders at Human Capital, he uncovered the recruiting tactics that actually drive an advantage when capital isn't the bottleneck—talent is.
In this episode, Nolan talks to Mike about what separates average recruiting from the kind that changes company trajectories. This one is packed with practical ideas: from treating recruiting like a true operating function, to creating candidate experiences that actually feel different, to why involving spouses in senior hires is wildly underused.
Key takeaways:
- Why the best recruiters act like operators, not coordinators
- Why “being human” is still an unfair edge in hiring
- The simple offer-stage move that can dramatically improve close rates
Key topics covered:
[00:00] Intro
[05:39] Arsenal Pulse Building Defense Tech Talent
[08:04] Human Capital Partnership Model vs Advisory
[12:34] Founders Don't Want Management
[16:27] Scaling Recruiting Teams in Hard Tech
[20:25] Getting on the Ground With Clients
[24:23] Vetting Founders Who Can't Hire
[27:19] Including Spouses in Job Offers
[29:21] Exclusive Events Beat Career Fairs
[32:22] People Function Needs Actual People Leaders
To learn more about Metaview, the AI platform for 10x recruiting teams, head to www.metaview.ai/10x
