In this episode of 1 to 100, Usman Hanif sits down with Brendan Foody, Co-founder and CEO at Mercor, an AI-powered platform that automates the hiring process. Mercor has grown from zero to mid seven-figure revenue in just one year, working with top foundation model and AI companies. Brendan and Usman discuss the technical challenges and groundbreaking technologies behind their AI vetting process, exploring multimodal models, and its future expansion into various roles and domains. They discuss the massive market opportunity Mercor is going after 🔥 Apply to join over 400 Founders and Execs in the Turpentine Network: www.turpentinenetwork.co -- SPONSOR: WORKOS 🛠️ Building a B2B SaaS app? WorkOS has got you covered with easy-to-integrate APIs for SAML, SCIM, and more. Join top startups like Perplexity, Vercel, Jasper & Webflow in powering your app with WorkOS. Enjoy a free tier for up to 1M users! Start now at https://bit.ly/WorkOS-Turpentine-Network -- RECOMMENDED PODCAST: 🎙️ This Won't Last Eavesdrop on Keith Rabois, Kevin Ryan, Logan Bartlett, and Zach Weinberg's monthly backchannel. They unpack their hottest takes on the future of tech, business, venture, investing, and politics. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1765665937 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2HwSNeVLL1MXy0RjFPyOSz YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWontLastpodcast -- LINKS: Mercor: https://mercor.com/ Why You Should Join newsletter: https://whyyoushouldjoin.substack.com/ -- X : @BrendanFoody (Brendan) @mercor_ai (Mercor) @usygoosy (Usman) @why2join (Why You Should Join) @turpentinemedia (Turpentine) -- TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Intro (02:06) How Mercor automates staffing and recruiting (04:19) Competitive edge of Mercor (06:39) Advantages of Mercor's platform (10:22) AI technology in candidate vetting (14:04) Exploring multimodal models (20:16) Sponsor: WorkOS (21:23) Challenges and innovations in AI-powered hiring (22:36) Defensibility and moat (24:49) Opportunity in the labor market (30:12) How company expanded its hiring services (31:45) Expanding AI models across domains (34:03) Validating AI models for different roles (35:06) Improving candidate experience (36:47) Building a marketplace (41:41) Leveraging international talent (45:41) Founding team and early challenges (50:15) Future plans and hiring (52:28) Wrap