Some startups begin with a vision. Others begin with a pain point.
For Joe Meyer, it was the latter – and very personal.
“I wasn’t even actively job-hunting, but executive recruiters kept reaching out with one opportunity at a time. I just knew there were more roles out there… they just weren’t being shared.”
That curiosity about the jobs that weren’t being shown became the spark for ExecThread, now a premium membership community with over 800,000 senior professionals. The platform unlocks access to confidential, executive-level job opportunities that were previously inaccessible to most.
But back then? It was just an idea.
Launching Without Code (Or a Co-Founder)
Joe is no stranger to startups. His last one, HopStop, was acquired by Apple. But when he approached his former head of mobile engineering about co-founding ExecThread, the answer was a polite no. The engineer had his own thing in motion.“But he said something that stuck with me. ‘If it’s a great idea, you’ll figure out how to launch it without me.’”
Challenge accepted.
Joe didn’t know how to code. But he did know how to validate. “I thought about it for a few nights and realized I could hack together a proof of concept without writing a line of code. I just needed to get enough traction to prove the idea had legs.”
He launched, validated, and only then brought in developers to build the real version. “It was just about getting to that first proof point. That’s all you need to start raising money, building momentum, and attracting the right people.”
From Frustration to Flywheel
Joe’s vision was to democratize access to executive opportunities, the ones that aren’t on LinkedIn or job boards. And he needed a clever way to scale it.
Enter: the “give to get” model.
Early ExecThread members could see listings, but key details were blurred. To unlock them, they had two options: contribute listings themselves or refer peers into the network. Each action earned points, which could be redeemed for access.
“It created a really strong flywheel. People were incentivized to grow the network because it meant better access for them and for everyone.”
Eventually, that evolved into the more familiar freemium subscription model. But the foundational insight stayed the same: people crave access. And they’re willing to contribute or pay for it when it’s meaningful.
Job Listings as the Fishing Lure
ExecThread operates as a two-sided marketplace for jobs on one side, talent on the other. But Joe sees it differently.
“When I was at eBay, we used to say ‘supply follows demand.’ But with ExecThread, it’s the opposite. Demand follows supply.”
To him, the job listings are the bait. “They’re the fishing lure. The candidates are the fish. They’re biting because we’ve got the jobs no one else has.”
And it’s clearly working. In 2024, ExecThread was named the #524 fastest-growing private company in the U.S. by Inc. Magazine, the #24 fastest-growing in the Northeast. Most recently, they were also ranked the #46 fastest-growing company in the Americas by the Financial Times.
They’re profitable, cash-flow positive, and have been for years – a rare feat for a company some once dismissed as a mere ‘lifestyle’ business.
Even their recent $1.5M in growth funding came via non-dilutive debt, a rare move in the startup world. “Because we’re profitable, we can service that comfortably, and it doesn’t dilute ownership. It’s a unique model in tech.”
Founder Lessons: “Just Launch It.”
Joe didn’t sugarcoat it when asked what advice he’d give to wantrepreneurs, especially non-technical ones.
“If you think it’s a good idea, prove it. Stop hiding behind your pitch deck or financial projections. You don’t even have a business yet. Just get it off the ground.”
He sees that too many first-time founders procrastinate by doing what feels safe, planning, modeling, and theorizing. “That’s not launching. That’s busywork. You’ve got to get uncomfortable and put your idea in the world.”
And if you do?
“Traction is the best validation. If people are signing up, engaging, or even paying you, then you’ve got something.”
Paying It Forward
ExecThread was born from Joe’s own frustration, but built on the insight that others were likely feeling the same. That empathy shaped the platform, the growth model, and the founder’s mindset every step of the way.
His journey is a reminder that you don’t need a technical co-founder, a massive team, or a fancy launch. You just need a real problem, a smart hypothesis, and the grit to test it out loud.
“Put it out there,” Joe said. “Even if it’s not perfect. Especially if it’s not perfect.”
And with that, Joe Meyer continues to do what all great founders eventually do: build something meaningful, and then turn around to help the next person do the same.