Talent management is an art but also requires a solid base and that is where start-ups often struggle. Yet management consulting has provided some advice which can enable these kinds of small firms to recruit the best of tech talent. The recruitment must start early, possibly by August of the year. Recruiters alone must not be involved in this, instead senior executives must also be tapped. In case these new recruits are students, then their existing work pressure and time constraints must be taken into account. The exact requirements must be specified to all candidates as well as interns. The clincher in this deal will be the promise and actual execution of learning on the job which is where start-ups are bound to have an advantage over large, bureaucratic firms.