Quality points, my responses:
1) You're right it doesn't immediately qualify you, but it does give you a better understanding as to what position requirements actually entail and what people mean when they say "I want to avoid all non-linux dev environments". We just use it as a base filter and then build coaches into the most qualified people over time.
2) Some people need light changes, some people need harsh truth. Recruiters ignore the latter and treat them as lost causes. I don't mean to say we'll disrespect people -- sorry if it came across that way!
3) We're building a network of helpful experts (see https://jobstart.co/experts). We'll give people tips on how to explore their own network, connect with our experts, and do generic things such as attend meetups/events. Depends on the coach and the candidate.
4) Hmm, I'm trying to figure out how to explain this part properly and it's admittedly a bit difficult. Have you ever been sent a specced candidate by a company? What was that experience like -- good or bad? In our experience, it's almost always been bad. Usually it's so bad they don't even get the position requirement and candidate aligned properly, let alone send an outstanding candidate. I think some of this comes back to point #1, having the engineer-coach understand the specs, and letting the candidate themselves even do some initial contact. We don't run the entire job search for you -- we'll intro you to some companies, sure, but we're also going to teach you how to get better conversion % on your own efforts.
"that acts and behaves the way a recruitment company is meant to behave". I disagree with everything in that sentence. Everything is temporary and no company or service is meant to act in any such way. Startups thrive only by finding creative ways of doing things.