Lets face it, if you are a skilled web developer, have a decent education, and open to full time positions, your time on the market is short. Within a few days, (or two weeks max) you will have 4 offers in your hand, and being under the gun on deciding which startup wets your appetite the most.

Not since the dot com boom days have we seen a market like this. With the evolution of startups and the historical decrease in funding needed to launch them, we are seeing more companies launched than ever before. If your startup wants to contend with some of the bigger names in tech, you will need to be swift, and efficient.
The single most common reason why companies fall short in successfully recruiting that engineer, is SPEED.
When you find the right guy/gal, move quick. Dont space interviews weeks apart from each other. Dont string along a candidate and force 5+ interviews on them. And most importantly, dont be afraid to pull the trigger!

I saw these points on how to conduct a first round interview in a blog, and it is right on point!

1. Set the agenda (Duration of the call and topics covered)
2. Start by asking about them (Above and beyond your resume, tell me your story)
3. Ask more questions about them (What technologies were you using, what are you building, team size, % breakdown of role)
4. Tell your story (Before this, when I got here, why I joined, since I joined, why I’m staying)
5. Tell the story of the company (Who, What, When/where we started, where we came from, where we are, where we are going)
6. Dive into the product/application (Core business, user base, market, competitors)
7. Detail the team break down (Overall employees, tech numbers, tech stack, seniority, tenure)
8. Light overview of the role as it pertains to the current business need (Describe business need in a way to objective the must have skills)
9. Ask an open ended question to incite communication and articulation from the candidate (Personalized question about their story)
10. Wrap up the call and set a reference point regarding next steps (Set up a second round at the end of a first round or check-in call if unsure)
11. Follow through with next step (Let the NOs go)

Follow these little tips and you tremendously more successful in recruiting than your slower moving counterparts!