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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
Pitching yourself as a "content creator passionate about the creator economy." Everyone who applies will say this. Oscar has spent years inside the creator economy at an operational level. What gets attention is proof that you understand the product problem, either through using Deaku, building something relevant, or mapping a real insight about creator workflow complexity that shows you've thought beyond surface level.
What gets their attention
Oscar posted on LinkedIn days after the raise asking specifically for full-stack engineers, using the phrase "helping design systems, weighing up technical bets, and building shoulder-to-shoulder with a small team." That's not a general interest form, it's a founder doing the hiring himself. The press release names engineering team expansion and support capabilities as the two primary uses of capital, alongside GTM partnerships. At 5 people with a product in soft launch and a big marketing push incoming, every hire is critical and every hire is made personally by Oscar or Harrison. The creator angel lineup is also a direct sales pipeline signal: Rob Landes, Charles Berthoud, and Rob Van Impe each have active creator communities. As Deaku onboards them as customers, growth and partnerships roles become urgent.
Why applying the normal way doesn't work
At <50 people, DEAKU has no recruiting team. Your application lands with a founder who is also running sales, product and payroll. The obstacle isn't a queue or an ATS, it's being seen at all. Cold outreach outperforms the form here, consistently.
Who to contact at DEAKU
Founding team
Oscar is one of the more compelling founder backstories in the UK startup ecosystem right now, not because it's unusual to leave medicine, but because of what he did before he left. While still practicing as an NHS doctor, he ran a parallel career as an award-winning health content creator, earning recognition as an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur and building a content strategy practice alongside his medical work. His entry point into the creator economy was specific: he was trying to counter the spread of medical misinformation online, and video was the most effective tool he had. What started as a public health mission became a production operation working with some of the world's largest YouTubers, generating over 100 million long-form views. The burnout that eventually pushed him out of medicine, described publicly in a Healthtech Podcast episode he recorded before the raise, was not clinical fatigue but the operational chaos of managing creator businesses without the right infrastructure. That's the founding insight for Deaku, and it's genuinely lived rather than observed. He debuted Deaku at SXSW London, has a dog named Marshall who crashes video calls, and is active daily on LinkedIn. His Instagram and TikTok handle is @Fergoscopy. He also co-founded Oddity Health alongside Deaku.
Harrison is the quieter co-founder and the one with the production infrastructure expertise. He built a video production business before Deaku, working directly with some of YouTube's biggest channels. He and Oscar co-wrote the Deaku YouTube content strategy course (available at courses.deaku.app), which distils fifteen years of combined experience in creative industries into a structured curriculum. The course is written by Harrison and presented by Oscar, which is a fairly clean division of roles that probably maps to how they run the company.
What to show them
Oscar has already broadcast this need publicly on LinkedIn. He is looking for someone who can lead technical decisions, not just execute them, at a company where the product is not yet fully shipped. This is employee five or six, with equity and direct founder access. He described the role as one where "your fingerprints are all over the product." Core skills: TypeScript or JavaScript, React, Node.js or similar backend, database design (Postgres or similar), product analytics integrations, API development, early-stage product velocity. Proof of work: Sign up for Deaku's early access, map one specific workflow gap in the current product (strategy planning, analytics display, team collaboration), and propose a technical solution with a brief architecture sketch. Share it via DM on LinkedIn to Oscar before sending a formal email. Shows you've used the product and thought at the right level.
A cold email that works at DEAKU
What DEAKU screens for
Screening signal: Oscar posted on LinkedIn days after the raise asking specifically for full-stack engineers, using the phrase "helping design systems, weighing up technical bets, and building shoulder-to-shoulder with a small team." That's not a general interest form, it's a founder doing the hiring himself. The press release names engineering team expansion and support capabilities as the two primary uses of capital, alongside GTM partnerships. At 5 people with a product in soft launch and a big marketing push incoming, every hire is critical and every hire is made personally by Oscar or Harrison. The creator angel lineup is also a direct sales pipeline signal: Rob Landes, Charles Berthoud, and Rob Van Impe each have active creator communities. As Deaku onboards them as customers, growth and partnerships roles become urgent.
A tailored CV beats a generic one. Use DEAKU's job description language to clear filters.
Mistakes that kill applications
Generic CVs stand out at a <50-person company — and not in a good way. Fastest path to rejection.
Skip 'I'm looking for...' — start with The creator economy is now valued at $250B globally and is professionalising rapidly and your specific angle on solving it.
Applying and waiting = silence. Follow up at day five — it roughly doubles your odds of a reply.
Frequently asked questions
How do I apply to DEAKU?
Through the roles on our DEAKU jobs page, or directly to a founder or department head if you can reach them. At <50 people, direct outreach outperforms the form.
Does DEAKU respond to cold emails?
Not enough data yet on DEAKU's cold email response rates.
Who is the hiring manager at DEAKU?
At this size, hiring is usually run by a founder or department head.
How competitive is it to get hired at DEAKU?
Typical applicant count for AI roles (<50 people): 50-100 in two weeks. Apply fast.
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