Boutique recruiting firms with 1 to 10 recruiters live and die by candidate sourcing, but they are stuck between two bad options. Generic LinkedIn automation tools like Expandi are built for sales prospecting, not recruiting, so recruiters have to reverse-engineer sequences meant to sell software into candidate outreach flows. On the other end, enterprise recruiting platforms are priced and scoped for 50-plus seat teams. The result is a small agency recruiter manually copy-pasting InMails, tracking follow-ups in spreadsheets, and losing candidates to slow, inconsistent outreach.
SourceStep is a LinkedIn and email outreach sequencer with candidate-sourcing workflows pre-built out of the box. Instead of a blank canvas, a recruiter picks a template like 'passive candidate warm-up,' 'active applicant nurture,' or 'client-brief-to-shortlist,' and the tool runs a multi-touch cadence across LinkedIn connection requests, messages, and email, with safe sending limits and reply detection baked in.
The MVP is narrow on purpose: LinkedIn connect and message automation with human-like throttling, three to five recruiter-specific sequence templates, reply detection that pauses a sequence when a candidate responds, and a simple pipeline view. Email as a second channel comes after the LinkedIn core is stable.
Revenue is a per-seat monthly subscription, targeting the 1 to 10 recruiter firm where the buyer is often the founder-recruiter who feels the pain directly and can decide fast. GTM starts in the exact communities already asking 'how do I reach recruiters and candidates on LinkedIn' on YouTube, plus recruiting-specific Slack and Facebook groups, with content that demonstrates the pre-built sequences rather than teaching them to build their own.
Growth loops: shared sequence templates that recruiters can clone and pass around become a distribution mechanism, and agency owners who see placements accelerate refer peers in a tight, referral-heavy industry.