Backdoor
I want to reach startups beyond Jill's client list.
Jack & Jill introduces you to companies that hire through Jill and pay it per hire. Backdoor writes to the founder at any startup that fits you, each morning, from your own Gmail.
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Backdoor
The short answer
Pick Backdoor if you want a startup job and a reply from the person who hires, at any startup that fits you. It finds startups from funding and launch news, often before a role is posted, and writes to the founder from your Gmail.
When Jack & Jill fits
Jack & Jill suits tech people in London, San Francisco or New York who are happy to wait for free intros from its employer clients.
Backdoor vs Jack & Jill, side by side.
 Backdoor | ||
|---|---|---|
| Who reads it first | The founder or hiring manager at any startup that fits you | A hiring manager at a Jill client, once both agents see a fit |
| How companies are picked | Fresh funding, launch and hiring news, matched to your background | Companies hiring through Jill, plus public listings you apply to yourself |
| What you do | Share your LinkedIn, then reply SEND to the notes you like | Talk to Jack by voice, then wait for matches and intros |
| Follow-ups | Three, sent for you in the same thread, stop when they reply | Jack makes the intro; no follow-up schedule is published |
| When you hear back | 9 in 10 first replies came within two weeks | When a Jill client wants you; no reply times published |
| Risk to you | Sent from your own Gmail after you approve. Nothing touches LinkedIn | Free, but intros only reach companies paying its 10% fee |
| Where you use it | WhatsApp or iMessage, with a web dashboard | Web app, voice call and email |
| Price | India: passes from ₹999 for 7 days, nothing renews. US: $1 first week, then $29/month | Free |
| Free plan | Chat, profile research, your resume and a demo search with sample matches are free. You pay for outreach. | Free for job seekers, with mock interviews and salary coaching included. Employers pay only when they hire. |
| Public rating | New, so no large review base yet | 3.7 on Trustpilot (224 reviews reviews) |
Jack & Jill facts checked October 2026. Read on jackandjill.ai/pricing on 2026-10-17: free for candidates; employers pay 10% of first-year salary per permanent hire (10% of 12 months' pay for contractors), refunded if the hire leaves within 3 months. Sources: Homepage, Pricing, Pulse 2: $40M Series A, SiliconANGLE: $20M seed, Trustpilot reviews, Jobright review.
A match only happens if a paying client wants you.
- 1
You tell Jack what you want.
- 2
Intros come from companies that pay Jill per hire.
- 3
Everything else is a listing you apply to.
Why startup job seekers switch from Jack & Jill.
The best Jack & Jill alternative for getting a startup job is Backdoor, if you want to reach the founder yourself instead of waiting for a match. Jack & Jill introduces you to companies that hire through Jill and pay it 10% of a first-year salary. For other roles, it points you to apply on your own. Backdoor writes to the founder or hiring manager at any startup that fits you, picked each morning from funding, launch and hiring news.
That matters most at early startups. A team that just raised a seed round often has no posted role and no hiring partner yet, so it is on nobody's client list. Backdoor finds it from the news, finds the founder's email on public pages, and drafts a short note about why you fit that one company. Nothing goes out until you reply SEND, and then it goes from your own Gmail. Three follow-ups go in the same thread, 3, 4 and 5 days apart, and stop the moment someone replies.
Jack & Jill scores 3.7 on Trustpilot from 224 reviews, and one reviewer counted over 500 matches in five months with no interviews. Backdoor's numbers are floors, since replies are undercounted. From May to October 2026 it sent 11,300+ first emails to founders for 481 people. 9 in 10 people who heard back got their first founder reply within two weeks, and 6 in 10 of those who kept sending for three weeks or more heard back from a founder.
What Jack & Jill users report.
- A Trustpilot reviewer counted over 500 matches in five months with no interviews. uk.trustpilot.com
- Reviewers say it suggests roles in regions they can't work in and sends listings that are weeks out of date. uk.trustpilot.com
- Reviewers say it shows roles they can't apply to through it and tells them to apply directly. au.trustpilot.com
- A reviewer says its search reads job titles rather than job descriptions. uk.trustpilot.com
- A review found matches outside users' stated preferences, such as engineering roles for someone in an unrelated field. jobright.ai
Here's what it feels like instead.
Backdoor does the searching, writing and chasing. You stay in the loop and say yes.
BackdoorReach them before the job is posted
Startups that just raised or launched are in reach before they post a role or sign up with Jill.
BackdoorA founder reads it, not a filter
Your note goes to the founder or hiring manager, at any startup that fits you, not only paying clients.
BackdoorFollow-ups happen without you
Three follow-ups go out in the same thread for you and stop the moment someone replies.
The note Backdoor would write for you.
Example
Maya, three years of frontend at a New York fintech, five months of Jack & Jill matches in.
Why Tallyroot, why now
Raised a $5M seed to build expense software for restaurant groups.
The person and the startup are made up. Your notes are written from your own work and each startup's news.
Hi Dana,
Congrats on the seed. Expense software built for restaurant groups is a gap I saw up close at my last job.
I've spent three years on frontend at a New York fintech, where I rebuilt our card spend dashboard in React. Load time went from 6 seconds to under 1, and support tickets about it fell by half.
Your managers will be checking spend on a phone between shifts, and that kind of fast, simple screen is the work I like most.
Would you have 15 minutes next week to talk about your first frontend hire?
Replies come in weeks, not months.
Backdoor only writes to founders you fit, so the ones who answer tend to answer fast. See the research
first founder replies came within two weeks
interviews came within two weeks
replies came after a follow-up Backdoor sent
Among the people who got a reply or an interview, May 2026 to October 2026, out of 481 people Backdoor sent for.
Give it three weeks.
Out of every 10 people who let Backdoor run for three weeks or more (28 people so far):
And you never have to chase.
3 in 10 founder replies came after a follow-up. Backdoor sends those for you, so you never have to chase.
Moving over from Jack & Jill.
- 1Keep Jack running if you like its intros; Backdoor doesn't need you to stop.
- 2Text Backdoor your LinkedIn on WhatsApp or iMessage and connect your Gmail.
- 3Read your first notes the next morning and reply SEND to the ones you like.
Start tonight. Wake up to founders who fit you.
Every morning Backdoor picks startups for you and drafts the notes. All you do is reply.
Say hi
On WhatsApp or iMessage. It takes ten seconds.
Send your LinkedIn
Or your resume. Backdoor reads up on you.
Get your first founders
Startups that fit you, with notes ready to send.
Questions, answered.
It's free for job seekers, so it costs nothing to try. Its intros only go to companies that hire through Jill and pay it 10% of first-year salary, and it scores 3.7 on Trustpilot from 224 reviews.
Backdoor, if you want a startup job and a reply from the person who hires. It writes to founders at any startup that fits you, from your own Gmail, and 9 in 10 people who heard back got their first founder reply within two weeks.
Yes, for candidates. Employers pay 10% of a hire's first-year salary, which is why its intros go to companies that hire through Jill.
Yes. Take the intros Jack brings you, and let Backdoor write to the startups outside Jill's client list, including ones that haven't posted a role.
9 in 10 people who heard back got their first founder reply within two weeks of their first email. About 3 in 10 founder replies came after a follow-up.
Research, career advice, resume help and a demo search are free. Outreach in India is a one-time pass (₹999 for 7 days, ₹1,599 for 30, ₹1,799 for 90); in the US it's $1 for the first week, then $29 a month, $59 a quarter or $149 lifetime.
No. It writes a short note to the founder or hiring manager, and you approve each one before it goes out from your Gmail. No form is filled in and no posted role is needed.
Also comparing
Free to start · No forms · No app
Your next role could be one email away.
Say hi and share your LinkedIn. Backdoor finds the founders, writes the notes and follows up. You just say send.
Backdoor