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How to Actually Get Hired
Who reads applications, which channel gets a reply, and what they screen for.
Don't make these mistakes
Don't send generic AI enthusiasm. Lead with specific proof of work - a demo, a growth plan, or sample research briefs. Reference the rebrand from Gaus to Astor, the Robinhood scaling experience, or the monashees portfolio work. Show you understand the retail investor pain point.
What gets their attention
Astor AI (YC S25), a lean 5-person fintech squad fresh off Demo Day in late 2025, is screaming "hiring spree ahead" via the classic post-YC playbook: snag a $3-6M seed round fast (often from networks like Sequoia's) and explode headcount to 15-20 within 6 months to capitalise on momentum. Plus, their accelerating product traction (e.g., early beta user growth or API integrations hinted in YC updates) is likely fueling burn-rate needs for engineering). CEO Bruno Koba supercharges this - Stanford Botha-Chan Fellow (Roelof Botha's direct Sequoia scout pipeline), ex-Monashees deal lead behind $1B+ exits - while his recent LinkedIn fires up Brex/Nubank scaling tales and VC/founder chats, pure pre-raise signaling for Q1 2026's aggressive growth phase before that seed PR hits (think Monashees or Sequoia announcements greenlighting AI-fintech hires).
Why applying the normal way doesn't work
With only <50 employees, Astor doesn't have dedicated recruiters. Founders review applications between running the company. The challenge isn't competition — it's visibility. Direct outreach wins.
Who to contact at Astor
Founding team
Stanford GSB MBA (Class of 2025) and Botha-Chan Fellow - a program sponsored by Sequoia's Roelof Botha that selects only 30 students. Before Stanford, he was a data scientist at Nubank from 2018 to 2020, building ML models that impacted millions of users. He then joined monashees, Brazil's leading VC ($2B+ AUM), as a Senior Associate where he led deal teams for 8 seed/Series A investments, including two companies now valued over $1B (Merama and Clara), and deployed $180M+ across 15+ follow-on rounds. Deeply connected to the LatAm fintech ecosystem - Nubank's CEO David Vélez is also Stanford GSB, and Bruno interviewed Vélez at Stanford. His communication style is very active on LinkedIn: substantive posts about VC, fintech, and entrepreneurship. He engages thoughtfully with comments, is approachable, but expects substance. He values people who have conviction about a market.
Ex-Stripe, Robinhood, and Amazon software engineer who's been building production-ready AI agents and scaling systems for years. At Robinhood, he scaled systems during the meme stock booms and volatile markets, exactly the kind of high-throughput, high-stakes engineering that Astor needs. At Stripe, he worked on core infrastructure. When YC S25 accepted them, he posted on LinkedIn: "After helping Robinhood scale during some of the wildest markets in history, we're building the AI advisor that every retail investor deserves." His communication style is more technically oriented than Bruno's, and he's likely the person evaluating engineering candidates.
What to show them
Build a mini AI investment chat interface. Use the OpenAI or Anthropic API paired with a financial data source (Alpha Vantage, Polygon.io, or Yahoo Finance API) to create a conversational AI that can answer portfolio-related questions. Bonus points if you add voice input/output to match Astor's actual product. Skills that matter: React Native or Flutter for mobile, Next.js for web, API integrations with financial data providers, WebSocket for real-time data, and experience building consumer-facing products at scale. Reach Daniel directly on LinkedIn.
A cold email that works at Astor
What Astor screens for
What they look for: Astor AI (YC S25), a lean 5-person fintech squad fresh off Demo Day in late 2025, is screaming "hiring spree ahead" via the classic post-YC playbook: snag a $3-6M seed round fast (often from networks like Sequoia's) and explode headcount to 15-20 within 6 months to capitalise on momentum. Plus, their accelerating product traction (e.g., early beta user growth or API integrations hinted in YC updates) is likely fueling burn-rate needs for engineering). CEO Bruno Koba supercharges this - Stanford Botha-Chan Fellow (Roelof Botha's direct Sequoia scout pipeline), ex-Monashees deal lead behind $1B+ exits - while his recent LinkedIn fires up Brex/Nubank scaling tales and VC/founder chats, pure pre-raise signaling for Q1 2026's aggressive growth phase before that seed PR hits (think Monashees or Sequoia announcements greenlighting AI-fintech hires).
Don't send a generic CV to Astor. Mirror the job posting's language to get past automated screening.
Mistakes that kill applications
At <50 people, a copy-paste CV is immediately obvious. It's an instant no.
Lead with their problem, not your ambition. Astor is focused on Retail investors now account for 25% of all U — show you understand that.
Don't apply and wait. The median Fintech, Consumer Finance application gets no response ever. One follow-up at day five roughly doubles reply rates.
Frequently asked questions
How do I apply to Astor?
Through the roles on our Astor jobs page, or directly to a founder or department head if you can reach them. At <50 people, direct outreach outperforms the form.
Does Astor respond to cold emails?
We're still collecting cold email data for Astor.
Who is the hiring manager at Astor?
At this size, hiring is usually run by a founder or department head.
What ATS does Astor use?
Astor uses Workable.
How competitive is it to get hired at Astor?
<50-person Fintech, Consumer Finance companies see ~50-100 applicants per role in two weeks. The 72-hour window is your advantage.
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