“Hire Great People” is an evergreen priority for every startup founder, whether it’s the company’s first employee or 1,000th. I’ve already written about how mission-driven founders have a recruiting advantage versus those companies just pitching perks and coolness. And when doing the hiring, how the standard interview process is suboptimal. Well, one other undervalued aspect of evaluating talent is judging whether or not they can attract other needed hires. I don’t just mean provide you with some referrals. I mean are they the type of person who once they join your company is going to start telling their friends and former colleagues that this is the place to be. And will those people listen to them.
The ability to attract coworkers is one of the great aspects of Silicon Valley. You can watch talented clusters of engineers move together in loosely joined groups. One factor in YouTube’s success was a bunch of great Paypal talent coming together again. Interestingly a subset of these folks moved over to Dropbox during a multiyear period.
I’d go even further when judging senior execs – the inability to bring former team members over is a major red flag. If all people who’ve worked for or with them in the past don’t want to do the same again, I don’t care how glowing the reference is, something is wrong. It’s why I love to see people like Steve Cheney, ex of GroupMe, bring one of his best former colleagues over to his new company. A hire like Steve can basically turn to the CEO and say “don’t worry, I got this.” You get someone like Steve and you don’t just hire a person, you’ve hired a team.
Pingback: Understanding the Politics of Tech Startups - The Sales Pitch
Pingback: Understanding the Politics of Tech Startups | Enjoying The Moment
Pingback: Understanding the Politics of Tech Startups | Recursos para Emprendedores
Pingback: Understanding the Politics of Tech Startups | My Web Marketing Planner Blog
Pingback: Execs Who Can’t Attract Former Coworkers Are Red Flags | Enjoying The Moment
Pingback: Beware Of Any Manager With This Giant Red Flag | [ mukeshbalani.com ]
Pingback: Beware Of Any Manager With This Giant Red Flag | This Is Jah Smith DOT com
Pingback: Anthony Campanella – Beware Of Any Manager With This Giant Red Flag
Pingback: Beware Of Any Manager With This Giant Red Flag | The Usual Sources – Where You Are The Source.
Pingback: Beware Of Any Manager With This Giant Red Flag - Jasra Inc Digital Strategy | Manoj Jasra
Pingback: Beware Of Any Manager With This Giant Red Flag | Content Loop
Pingback: Beware Of Any Manager With This Giant Red Flag | BaciNews
Pingback: Beware Of Any Manager With This Giant Red Flag | Business Insider
Pingback: Major Red Flag: None of Your Former Colleagues Want to Work With You | Enjoying The Moment
Pingback: Major Red Flag: None of Your Former Colleagues Want to Work With You | BraandLife Tech News
Pingback: You New Hires Should Be Your Best Recruiters - Dice News
Pingback: Understanding the Politics of Tech Startups | AlwaysOn Network
Pingback: Weekend Reader Woche 2 | fime
Pingback: Understanding the Politics of Tech Startups
Pingback: A few good reads | Information Motivation
Pingback: Experienced “great hires” are those who can attract old co-workers
Pingback: Hiring Momentum: Underrated Component of Startup Success | Hunter Walk
Pingback: Don’t Start a Company Without a Hiring Plan | Hunter Walk