Startups in general are less dogmatic in hiring methodologies. We've screened candidates based on very strong personal references, Github, Stack Overflow, etc. However, we've found many people don't have a lot of available work "out there" for us to look at; at which point, we fall back to coffee meetings to establish fit, and technical interviews.

If you want to skip this "hiring manager" game, find startups that are small enough where the people hiring will be the people you'd work with. You'll get a better culture fit idea, and can be a lot more flexible regarding what they expect.