Steven Bartel

Bruh, listen up about Steven Bartel. This guy’s a straight-up tech beast who’s been crushing it for a while now. He’s a YC S17 alum, so he’s legit in the startup game, and his background is stacked. Dude’s worked at Blizzard, MIT, Facebook, Dropbox, and now he’s the CEO and co-founder of Gem. Yeah, that Gem, the recruiting platform that’s basically the Swiss Army knife for hiring, ATS, CRM, AI sourcing, scheduling, talent marketing, all rolled into one. No cap, it’s the real deal.

So, here’s the story. Steven’s been around the block. Started at Blizzard, which is gaming, then hit MIT, smart guy, no doubt. Then jumped into the tech scene big time with Facebook and Dropbox. At Dropbox, he was an engineering manager, helping them grow from 25 to 1,500 people. Think about that, scaling a giant company is no joke. He was knee-deep in analytics, building Dropbox Paper, and hiring like crazy. That experience? It’s gold. It gave him a front-row seat to how hard recruiting and candidate management really are when you’re scaling fast.

His time at Dropbox and Facebook? It’s what lit a fire under him. He saw all the bullshit, all the pain points in recruiting. That’s why him and his co-founder Nick Bushak, who also came from Facebook, jumped into building Gem. They wanted to fix the damn problem, make hiring smoother, smarter, more fast. And they crushed it. Raised $9 million Series A led by Accel, rebranded from ZenSourcer to Gem, and now they’re trusted by over 1,200 companies like Wayfair, Robinhood, UnitedHealth. Basically, the big dogs.

What does this all say about Steven? That he’s not just some engineer or exec. Nah, he’s a builder who’s seen the pain firsthand and decided to fix it. His process shows he’s deeply motivated by making things better, more fast, more human, less bullshit. Starting Gem isn’t just about making a buck; it’s about solving a real-world problem he knows inside out. That’s what makes him the real deal. Someone who’s been in the trenches, learned the game, and now is shaping the future of recruiting tech.

Long story short? Steven Bartel is a tech innovator who’s taken his top-tier experience at gaming, social media, and big tech, then turned it into something that actually changes how companies find talent. Dude’s the guy you wanna watch if you’re into startups, tech, or just someone who’s out here genuinely trying to make a difference.