How Autonomous AI Agents Helped Crypto Banter Find Hidden Talent and Eliminate 96% of Sourcing Time
Feb 14, 2026
Written By
Adil
Co-founder
Executive Summary
Client: Theo Voges, Director of Talent Acquisition at Crypto Banter
Industry: Crypto Media & Content
Challenge: 45-50 hours spent sourcing and screening per role, fake candidates infiltrating pipelines, limited candidate pool on traditional platforms
Solution: shortlistd.io's autonomous AI sourcing platform with access to 800M+ candidate profiles
Results:
96% reduction in sourcing time (50 hours → 2 hours per role)
3x increase in recruiting capacity with same headcount
100% new candidate discovery - every candidate sourced was not found on LinkedIn or other platforms
10-minute AI sourcing vs weeks of manual searches
From thousands of profiles to 45 qualified candidates - precision targeting for niche roles
The Situation: When Traditional Recruiting Tools Break Down
Theo Voges isn't your typical recruiter. As Director of Talent Acquisition at Crypto Banter, a fast-growing crypto media company, she sits at the intersection of strategic leadership and hands-on execution - directing hiring strategy while personally managing the entire recruitment process.
By early 2026, Theo was facing a perfect storm of recruiting challenges that would break most TA leaders:
Theo's candid account of what manual recruiting actually looks like at scale
The Pain Points
1. The Fake Candidate Crisis
"The biggest pain point and the reason that I reached out to shortlistd.io is because I was massively inundated with fake scammer DPRK candidates from North Korea trying to infiltrate our systems," Theo explains. "I was spending hours and hours interviewing people with fake AI faces that I knew weren't the real candidates."
This wasn't just a minor inconvenience - it was a security threat. Sophisticated actors were using AI-generated faces and stolen identities to attempt infiltration of crypto companies, and Theo was on the frontlines of defending against it.
2. The Time Drain
Traditional sourcing methods consumed 45-50 hours per role:
Hours on LinkedIn Recruiter conducting Boolean searches
Hundreds of CVs to manually review
Sorting through thousands of pages of search results
91 first-round interviews in just 10 days
Zero time left for relationship building or strategic work
3. The Hidden Talent Problem
Despite exhaustive searches on LinkedIn and other platforms, Theo wasn't finding the right candidates. For niche roles - like a video editor specializing in crypto content - traditional job boards and LinkedIn searches were returning either too many irrelevant results or missing qualified candidates entirely.
"When I did my original search for a video editor on LinkedIn, it was thousands of candidates," Theo recalls. "I didn't have time to look through all of them properly."
The Task: Finding a Better Way Forward
As a forward-thinking TA leader, Theo recognized that the traditional recruiting model was broken. She needed a solution that could:
Dramatically reduce sourcing and screening time without sacrificing quality
Access candidates outside the typical LinkedIn pool who were genuinely qualified
Filter out fake candidates and security threats more effectively
Scale her recruiting capacity to meet Crypto Banter's aggressive growth plans
Free up time for high-value activities like stakeholder management and candidate experience
The question wasn't whether to adopt AI for recruiting - it was which AI solution could actually deliver results.
The Action: Deploying Autonomous AI Sourcing Agents
Initial Concerns and Hesitations
Theo was simultaneously excited and cautious about AI recruiting. In a LinkedIn post before adopting shortlistd.io, she openly shared her concerns:
"What if AI misses information?"
"What if candidates don't feel our culture?"
"What if we can't detect AI candidates?"
But she also saw the potential: "What if our processes move faster? What if we meet more of the right people? What if people have a BETTER experience?"
Her biggest fear? "Learning how to use a new platform which can be quite tricky because it takes time, and time is a luxury that I do not have."
The Partnership Begins
What set shortlistd.io apart wasn't just the technology - it was the partnership approach.
"Having you guys walk me through the process and show me physically how to do things really helped me," Theo emphasizes. "If you had given me a video tutorial and just let me go, I probably wouldn't have used it to be 100% honest with you."
This hands-on onboarding was critical. The shortlistd.io team didn't just deploy software - they invested time understanding Crypto Banter's specific challenges and training Theo on the platform.
The Shift from Boolean to Conversational
One of the biggest learning curves was abandoning traditional Boolean search logic.
"I'm so used to doing Boolean searches and using keywords, whereas the way in which you use shortlistd AI while searching for a candidate is more conversational," Theo explains. "That was a learning curve for me because I wanted to manually go and just put in my boolean search."
The platform required a different mindset - talking to an AI agent about role requirements rather than constructing complex search strings. Initially uncomfortable, this approach would prove dramatically more effective.
The Video Editor Test Case
Theo chose a particularly challenging role to test the platform: a video editor with crypto industry experience who could create content for YouTube. This was intentionally difficult:
Highly niche - intersection of video editing, crypto knowledge, and YouTube content creation
Not well-represented on LinkedIn - creative professionals often have inactive LinkedIn profiles
Portfolio-based evaluation - required reviewing actual work, not just credentials
Thousands of potential results on traditional platforms
The perfect test case to see if AI sourcing could really deliver.
The Results: Transformational Impact Across Multiple Dimensions
1. Radical Time Savings
Before Shortlistd:
45-50 hours spent on sourcing and screening per role
Thousands of candidate profiles to manually review
Weeks of searching before finding qualified candidates
After Shortlistd:
2 hours total for the video editor role (including portfolio reviews and outreach)
96% reduction in time spent on sourcing and screening
Qualified candidates identified in minutes, not weeks
"I think for that video editor role, I spent a total of maybe two hours," Theo says, still somewhat amazed by the efficiency gain.
Crypto Banter's LinkedIn post celebrating the result - 4 days to signed offer
2. Discovery of Hidden Talent
The most surprising result? Every single candidate the AI surfaced was completely new.
"None of the candidates that were highlighted on shortlistd.io I found on any other platform where I was looking for people," Theo reveals. "They were a whole bunch of new people that I've never seen on any other platform before. That's what I found really exciting."
This wasn't just finding the same LinkedIn candidates faster - this was accessing an entirely different talent pool.
"Your platform found those people for me in the 10 minutes waiting time that I waited for your agent to find the people that I was looking for," Theo explains. "No matter how much time we spent looking, we didn't find those people."
3. Precision Targeting
Before: Thousands of search results
After: 45 highly-qualified candidates
The AI didn't just find more candidates - it found the right candidates.
"When I used shortlistd.io, it gave me 45 candidates, which meant I spent two hours looking at all those candidates, looking at their portfolios, reaching out to them, setting up time to meet with them, and I was really happy to find the one candidate that I wanted to hire."
4. Capacity Multiplication
When asked how much she could scale her output with the platform, Theo was conservative but clear: "You're probably 3xing my work with shortlistd.io"
Translation: The same TA team could now handle 3x the hiring volume with maintained or improved quality. For a growing company like Crypto Banter, this multiplier effect is transformational.
5. Strategic Time Reallocation
Perhaps most importantly, eliminating the sourcing grind freed Theo to focus on high-value activities:
Stakeholder management with hiring managers
Candidate experience and relationship building
Process optimization and negotiation
Strategic hiring planning
"What makes me different is the way in which I manage my stakeholders internally and externally in a process," Theo reflects. "That's what really makes the difference in what it is that I'm doing."
The Mindset Shift: From Boolean Searches to Strategic Talent Leadership
Throughout the interview, Theo articulated something profound about the future of recruiting that every TA leader should hear.
The Old Guard vs The New Model
"Most recruiters have found solace in accepting that they are good at Boolean searches, and the management of the process for the candidate is not up to them - that's up to the business or the candidate or the hiring team, and they are just the people who are sourcing," Theo observes.
"I think those are old school recruiters who are matching a skill set to a job description."
The shift: From being order-takers who match keywords to CVs → to strategic partners who shape outcomes.
Where Human Value Really Lies
"The ability to match a person to a job description is not what gets spoken about," Theo emphasizes. "The ability to take somebody through a process and to change the overall outcome of a team - that's why people want to hire managers."
This insight cuts to the heart of AI's role in recruiting: AI should handle the $30-50/hour work (sourcing, screening, matching) so recruiters can focus on the $300-500/hour work (relationships, negotiation, strategic influence).
Addressing the Job Replacement Fear
Theo was candid about the fear many recruiters have: "Back in the day, I can remember how nervous a friend was that AI was going to take her job away."
Her response? "That fear has been put aside because I now realize that a recruiter’s skills – isn’t just about being good at doing a Boolean search, but what makes a difference is the way in which they manage stakeholders internally and externally."
Why This Partnership Works: Execution Speed and Client Partnership
Theo has heard of other AI recruiting tools and founding teams. What makes shortlistd.io different?
"The founding teams of other AI sourcing tools and recruiting tools - the speed of execution and the quality of execution is not the same," Theo states bluntly. "That's where you guys have the lead in the race."
She elaborates: "I've seen other founding product teams coming up with new concepts and I've seen them fall flat on their face many times. But I think the relationship that you build with your clients and the fact that you really hear what clients are struggling with, or you see opportunities that clients didn't even know they needed to think about - that's what makes you stand out."
The difference? Other teams say: "We told the founding team we're struggling with this, but they haven't updated anything."
With shortlistd.io: "You guys have actually got that waxed - we're moving already."
Key Learnings and Insights
1. Conversational AI > Boolean Logic
"I'm finding that my prompting is getting better based on the more that I do it, and I'm seeing the outcomes of it, and I'm AB testing all of my prompts," Theo shares.
The shift from Boolean searches to conversational AI requires practice, but yields better results once mastered.
2. AI Finds What Humans Miss
The platform's ability to surface candidates Theo had never seen on any other platform wasn't luck - it was systematic access to a broader talent pool with more sophisticated matching.
3. Time Savings Enable Quality Improvements
"We can manage the process and look at the quality of hire under a bigger microscope than we were before because we didn't have time to do it before," Theo explains.
Faster sourcing doesn't mean rushing the process - it means more time for the parts that matter.
4. Implementation Support Matters
"Having you guys walk me through the process" was repeatedly cited as critical to adoption. Even the best technology fails without proper onboarding.
The Broader Impact: Competitive Advantage Through Speed and Quality
For Crypto Banter, this isn't just about recruiting efficiency - it's about business competitiveness.
"Crypto Banter will definitely continue to use shortlistd.io," Theo confirms. "Where we're going to be able to benefit is the fact that it's bringing us profiles that we would never have seen otherwise. We can manage the process and look at the quality of hire under a bigger microscope."
In fast-moving industries like crypto, the ability to identify and hire top talent before competitors can is a significant strategic advantage. Shortlistd.io isn't just making recruiting faster - it's making Crypto Banter more competitive.
Advice for Other TA Leaders
When asked what she'd tell other recruiters hesitant about AI sourcing, Theo was direct:
Stop clinging to the low-value work:
"Don't get too attached to a $30, $50 an hour job. Go and look for the $300, $500 an hour job."
"It's a very easy job to teach someone how to be a recruiter, how to match a skill set with a person. But where leaders in the space stand out is the ability to take somebody through a process and to change the overall outcome of a team."
The future isn't human vs AI - it's strategic humans + powerful AI:
Theo regularly discusses AI recruiting with peers. The conversation has shifted from "Will AI take my job?" to "How can I use AI to focus on work that actually requires my expertise?"
Conclusion: The New Standard for Talent Acquisition
Theo Voges exemplifies the modern TA leader: strategic, data-driven, unafraid of technology, and laser-focused on delivering business value rather than defending outdated processes.
Her results with shortlistd.io aren't just impressive metrics - they're a blueprint for how AI should augment recruiting:
✅ 96% time reduction from 50 hours to 2 hours per role
✅ 100% new candidate discovery - accessing hidden talent pools
✅ 3x capacity increase with same headcount
✅ 10-minute sourcing from 800M+ candidate profiles
✅ Strategic time reallocation to high-value relationship work
As Theo puts it: "The speed of execution and the quality of execution - that's where you guys have the lead in the race."
About the Participants
Theo Voges is Director of Talent Acquisition at Crypto Banter, where she leads all hiring strategy and execution for the fast-growing crypto media company. With extensive experience in talent acquisition leadership, Theo is recognized for her strategic approach to recruiting and willingness to adopt innovative solutions. Her candid insights about the recruiting profession and the role of AI have resonated with TA leaders globally.
shortlistd.io is an autonomous AI hiring platform that sources candidates from 800M+ profiles, pre-screens CVs, and conducts voice interviews - delivering qualified candidates to recruiters in days instead of weeks. Founded by recruiting industry veterans Adil Gwiazdowski and Yatin Vij, shortlistd.io is built on the principle that recruiters should focus on relationships and strategy, not repetitive sourcing and screening tasks.
Acknowledgments
We're deeply grateful to Theo Voges and Crypto Banter for their partnership, candid feedback, and willingness to share her experience. Her courage in adopting new technology and her thoughtful insights about the recruiting profession make her a leader worth watching.
As Theo noted: "It's not often that I've had the ability to work with a product team, a founding product team on a new product, that has been so close with its clients, listening to the need, actually implementing changes consistently and really well."
That's the partnership we're building - one client at a time, one improvement at a time, one exceptional hire at a time.
Ready to Transform Your Recruiting?
If you're spending 40+ hours per role on sourcing and screening, missing qualified candidates on traditional platforms, or struggling to scale your TA team's capacity, let's talk.
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About the Author
Adil Gwiazdowski is CEO and Co-founder of shortlistd.io, an autonomous hiring platform designed for global regulatory compliance. With over 20 years of recruitment industry experience, including serving as VP where he directed tech talent business across multiple jurisdictions.
Related Resources
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Published: 14 February 2026
