It’s the people within that makes or breaks a startup company, according to Speek CTO Danny Boice in his Forbes.com article. The people you choose to work with today determines the kind of success your startup company will see tomorrow.
Bad hiring decisions may be impossible to avoid but tech startup entrepreneurs can start adapting the best hiring practices right at the onset.There’s a different breed of talent that thrives in a startup environment; it’s just a matter of finding them. Here are some tips on how:
Experience and Talent
BucketFeet CEO and co-founder Raaja Nemani recommends that for a senior hire, it is best to pick one with experience and for a junior hire, to choose the person with the smarts. If luck allows, you find someone talented who can, at the same time, contribute some industry expertise to the team. However, never underestimate the value of a blank slate. The inexperienced candidate knocking on your door might just turn out to be an A-player.
Timing
It is essential that startup entrepreneurs know how to determine when the company is ready for an expansion. A recent report by Startup Genome showed that premature scaling has driven 75% of startup companies to failure. You might start needing new hands to support the expansion your operations but hiring requires a lot of money. The challenge for startup entrepreneurs is maintaining a cost-efficient operation even as you decide to begin scaling. As an example, a lot of startups have found ways expedite the traditional hiring process to save time and resources.
The Right Fit
Startups offer a dynamic and very challenging workplace environment that not all kinds of people are cut out for. But before you will be able to find “the right fit” for the job and your company culture, you must first have already defined your startup’s unique company brand.You do not necessarily need to hire people that fit a certain mold. As Nemani put it, as much as possible, build a team with members that “fit together” like a jigsaw puzzle.
Passion and Ingenuity
Hire people with passion, focus, and insatiable curiosity. Startup companies are driven by great ideas and the smart execution of these ideas. Your people must be equipped with both the knowledge and the drive to channel their passion and curiosity toward success.
Learn from Experience
Bad hiring decisions give you valuable knowledge and insight about reading people. As you move on from a rather unpleasant experience with someone who did not turn out to be the kind of worker you were led to believe they are, you will have a better idea on what kind of challenges you face and the type of people you need to supplement your team.
One practical tip with new hires: It is almost always a good idea to allow new hires a reasonable amount of time to prove how much they believe in your company and your vision. Setting a trial period would help not only you but the candidate as well. If they are able to show that their goals are aligned with yours, then you can be sure that it will all work out in the end.
