According to First Round Capital’s State of Startups report, the No. 1 concern on the minds of founders is finding the right people to staff their growing businesses. My co-founders and I can certainly relate.
Almost two years ago, we launched a company designed to disrupt leadership coaching and bring personalized training to managers at all levels. We’ve faced the normal ups and downs that every startup faces: outgrowing spaces, finding clients, raising money, and yes, casting the right talent to take us to the next level.
In my hundreds of conversations with prospective employees, I’ve begun to crystallize my perspective on what makes for a strong candidate. What I’ve learned is that the intangible skills needed at a startup differ from what’s needed at a larger, more established company.
Here are ten characteristics startup founders should be on the lookout for when vetting talent.
1. Curious
At a startup, while it’s obviously important to have proven expertise in the functions of your role, you also must have desire to learn more. When I meet with candidates, I like to ask questions that reveal whether they’ve made a commitment to ongoing learning and education. I also like to ask why they are interested in working at a startup versus at a more established organization.
Their response to this question can be quite telling. When someone indicates to me that a startup appeals to them because of the personal growth opportunity, my ears almost always perk. This is someone who wants to be challenged, and understands that working at a startup can be a turbo-elevator to growth.
By the way, how candidates answer the question of “Why do you want to work here?” is also quite telling. Curiosity in the company itself is an important differentiating factor.
2. Deliberate in their personal goals
One of my favorite things to ask a candidate is, “What is a deal-breaker for you? What’s your walk-away point?” This question often gets to the crux of what someone is looking for in their career.
Someone is is floating aimlessly in their career will likely not be a fit at a startup. I hate to hear a candidate say that “salary isn’t an issue” or that they are “willing to do anything.” While rolling up one’s sleeves and taking less salary in exchange for equity are commonplace at startups, I like when candidates know their worth and know where they want their career to go next. “I’ll do anything” tells me they don’t have a plan for themselves, so I have no way of knowing if their personal career path aligns with that of my company—which, by the way, is a dream scenario for any manager.
3. Challenges the status quo
In my past life on the digital marketing team at Coca-Cola Benelux, we used to say the best people were “constructively discontent.” While that philosophy applied to a much larger company in this case, I believe holds true in the startup world, as well.
Many startups are hiring for roles like “growth hacker,” which indicate a desire for someone to come in and get things done in a different way. These candidates are comfortable being uncomfortable, and are constantly asking, “How can we be better?” or “What if?”
4. Agile
If you want to join a startup, you better be ready to get your hands dirty. This applies from founders and senior leadership to junior team members. Within a small team, it’s important to cast people who have varied talents.
At our company, for example, 75 percent of the team fluently speaks two languages or more. One of our co-founders was a DJ in his past life, one of our team members is a meditation buff, and another has experience running brainstorms. While these skills are outside their job descriptions, each are valued in the context of our team.
5. Founder mentality
At our company, we like to think of every team member as a co-founder of sorts. What this really means is that we expect our employees to share in a founder mentality. We want them to feel like we are all building something, together.
What does this mean? It means you have ownership when it comes to how your role fits within the broader goals of the company. You see the big picture. You go above and beyond to use your talents to advance the mission. In a startup environment, checking the box isn’t enough.
6. Confident
Many people join startups to fulfill the promise of leading a team and being relied upon as an internal expert. Founders are looking for people who can recognize their talents and own them. If you’ve been brought into a startup environment, it’s important to have a point-of-view.
I like to advise young talent to stick to their guns, but it can be difficult to balance confidence and hubris. Don’t expect someone to show you the way—many times it’s your job to figure that out—but at the same time, if you get lost you should be open to taking directions from someone else. After all, that’s what teams are all about.
7. Interesting outside of the office
Who you are and what you value outside of work ultimately impacts who you are inside the office. During introductory calls with candidates, I love to ask people what they like to do outside of work, and which accomplishments they’re most proud of. These questions will frequently reveal things about a person that cannot be gathered from even the best CVs or LinkedIn profiles.
A few weeks ago I spoke with a candidate who revealed she was an All-American track and field athlete. While this historical information was not relevant to the role we were discussing, it did tell me something about her mental toughness and emotional strength.
8. Brave
Founders should also seek our candidates who aren’t afraid of making mistakes. While being careless or sloppy is not acceptable at any organization, big or small, the willingness to assume risk is a trait from which startups can greatly benefit.
I’ve found that the people who aren’t afraid of taking risks often know how to handle missteps better than their more risk-averse peers. They know how to take responsibility and quickly rectify a situation before it becomes a true issue. They are also confident enough to assume responsibility for mistakes.
9. Self-aware
Self-awareness is one of the most important soft skills you can have, and it’s something we can all be constantly improving upon. While I might be biased—my startup is building a tool to help managers be more self-aware—most founders will agree that this is a key soft skill to assess when vetting candidate.
I like to find people who are self-reflective in success and in failure. Confidence stems from an awareness of one’s strengths, and humility comes from how someone identifies and managers their weak spots. At a startup, these are equally important.
10. Transparent
This last one is my favorite because transparency is a core value at our company. As the number of communications channels increase, it becomes easier to talk around tough issues, or avoid them altogether. This is especially true at remote companies, where communication is rarely face-to-face.
My best advice: Don’t be afraid to be naked—to put yourself out there and candidly provide constructive feedback to your colleagues, your managers and even your founders. For example, we have weekly meetings where we discuss feedback from the team on things like work/life balance, office environment and team dynamics. This is a safe space for employees to speak out, share ideas, and hash out challenges as a team.
The big takeaway here: In order for transparent cultures to be functional and effective, respect must be upheld as a defining principle.
If you’re considering making a leap to a startup, consider asking yourself how you match up against these core traits first. Oh, and by the way, we’re hiring. Shoot me a note at [email protected] to learn more.
