How Dapper Labs Hires Quality Talent Fast—Even as a Team of One

Dapper Labs, best known for pioneering blockchain-based consumer products like NBA Top Shot, runs lean but ambitious. As the Head of Talent Acquisition for both Dapper Labs and Flow Foundation, Anil Puli manages hiring across two fast-moving organizations. To stay ahead in hiring, Anil turned to Kula’s AI-native ATS.

Results at a Glance

• Faster hiring cycles across technical and business roles, even with a one-person TA team
• Higher-quality candidates surfaced through AI Scoring — automatically filtering 300+ applications down to the most relevant
• Less manual recruiter work (e.g., sourcing, outreach, and follow-ups) thanks to automation and AI workflows
• Clearer hiring manager visibility with streamlined feedback loops captured directly in Kula and surfaced via Slack
• A single source of truth for all pipelines across Dapper Labs and Flow Foundation

“Being a one-man show, less manual work has been huge. Outreach is powered natively within Kula, which significantly reduces the hours I used to spend manually searching either via LinkedIn or other sources like GitHub.”
_{— Anil Puli}

Before Kula, Anil relied on Lever along with LinkedIn Recruiter, spreadsheets, Slack, and email to run hiring. The result was a patchwork system that demanded constant manual effort and left hiring managers without much clarity.
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Posting jobs, managing pipelines, scheduling interviews, and tracking candidates all required manual input (e.g., copying data between tools). Hiring managers had limited visibility into where candidates stood in the process, and feedback was scattered across channels.

💡 “Most of the funnel processes from sourcing, initial screening, and outreach had a lack of automation and really no AI assistance. So a lot of the repetitive tasks required a manual touchpoint by our teams, and then as hiring scaled, these legacy ATSs were unable to keep pace with the customization that we require for our business, specifically in the space that we're in.”

Without automation or AI, the team was stuck in reactive mode — juggling busywork instead of focusing on strategic hiring. As a solo TA lead, it just wasn’t sustainable.

When evaluating alternatives, Anil considered Ashby, Greenhouse, and Kula. Ashby and Greenhouse offered enterprise-grade functionality but felt heavy for a lean team that needed to move quickly. Kula stood out as nimble, recruiter-friendly, and truly AI-native.

🔧 Our ATS Evaluation

Lever (previous ATS)‍

• Heavy manual recruiter work: job postings, scheduling, and pipelines all required manual effort
• Tools were disconnected (LinkedIn Recruiter, spreadsheets, Slack, email)
  
• Limited hiring manager visibility and delayed, scattered feedback

Ashby & Greenhouse (evaluated)

• Considered but felt too enterprise-heavy for a lean TA function
• Greenhouse was described as more of a “legacy ATS”
  
• Lacked the agility and built-in AI that Anil needed

“Kula was more nimble than enterprise tools like Ashby and Greenhouse, while still giving us the core functionality with native AI features.”
_{— Anil Puli}

Kula (winner 👑)

• AI-native automation for top-of-funnel sourcing and outreach
• AI Scoring to prioritize applicants and build pipeline confidence
  
• Streamlined recruiter ↔ hiring manager collaboration with Slack integration

💡 “The AI-native automated outreach was critical… and the ability to make status tracking and feedback collection easier and more transparent made the difference.”

Kula has changed how Anil runs talent acquisition across two organizations. Instead of juggling spreadsheets and disjointed tools, he now has one platform where everything happens.

‍✅ Less Manual Work
Outreach and sourcing that once required hours in LinkedIn or GitHub now happens natively inside Kula.

💡 “Being a one-man show, less manual work has been huge. Outreach is powered natively within Kula, which significantly reduces the hours I used to spend manually searching either via LinkedIn or other sources like GitHub.”

✅ Higher-Quality Candidates, More Confidence
With AI scoring, candidates are ranked automatically, giving hiring managers confidence in the shortlists they see.
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“If we’re getting 300 applications towards a job, allowing the AI to rank based on the skills the hiring managers are looking for allows us to really trim down the number of applications we’re manually having to assess. That gives both stakeholders and the talent team a higher level of confidence.”

✅ Better Collaboration With Hiring Managers
Kula makes it easier for managers to track candidates, give feedback, and move faster.

“Kula creates a very responsive workflow. Hiring managers can see exactly where candidates are and make quicker decisions, instead of chasing updates.”
_{— Anil Puli}

The features Anil highlights as making the biggest difference:

💡 AI Scoring — Narrows large applicant pools to the most relevant candidates, saving time and effort for both Talent teams and Hiring Managers.

💡 Automated Outreach — Cuts hours of manual sourcing work (e.g., initial outreach, follow ups, and more) each week.

💡 Slack Integration — Keeps hiring managers updated in tools they already use without endless email threads.

For Anil, choosing Kula wasn’t just about switching ATSs—it was about finding a partner that matched the pace of two high-growth organizations.

Kula has helped cut down repetitive, manual tasks, freeing up time for Anil to focus on more strategic hiring operations that move the business forward.

“My advice: Choose a partner, not just a vendor. Go with a platform that listens, iterates, and grows with you — that’s what I’ve experienced with Kula.”
_{— Anil Puli}

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