I'm surprised Wilson didn't mention being aware of evolving projects on github and subscribing to open source mailing lists. It's easy to look at a project that way and see who is contributing the quality commits and LOC.<p>Maybe he was thinking of these things under the heading of #2 and watching the competition.<p>I think recruiting talent from other geographies is key. Instead of trying to poach talent from other companies in SF or NYC, why not look for people in markets where developer jobs aren't as abundant?
TLDR version:<p>1) actual networking, people you know<p>2) poach from a small company<p>3) acquihires<p>4) india<p>5) naive college students<p>6) poach from a big company<p>7) the vc's son