You’ve got the funds? Time to Talent!
Recruiting is hard, especially for startups. I’ve done everything from corporate recruiting to agency recruiting to some weird type of recruiting in the middle of the two. However, no matter which angle I go about it, I come to the same conclusion: finding and attracting good people is a challenge.
Startup recruitment vs. general recruitment
Recruitment is a very competitive and often expensive challenge, no matter whether you are a corporate with unlimited resources or a hot startup hub in Silicon Valley or Amsterdam. However, when you are a very early stage startup, the challenge just doubled.
Besides all the effort any other company puts in for recruiting, among others, you have to convince your candidates to take a leap of faith, quit their current, safe jobs and join a growing company with limited resources. So, how do you, as a founder, find the right candidates to take this chance on your company?
The 5 P’s of Startup Recruitment
I began my career at a very early stage startup in Silicon Valley where I had no idea what I was doing. An Applicant Tracking System or a post-interview roundtable discussion is something I had never heard before. But despite that, I basically tried to reinvent the wheel in my first few months. Whoops.
I later realized that many Founders today have probably found themselves in the same boat I was in. Not to knock recruiters, but I highly doubt most entrepreneurs have come from a long career of recruiting. So, I decided to ask them about it.
I spoke to several startup Founders from Amsterdam to Silicon Valley with the intention of extracting all I could from them in regard to their hiring experiences in the early days of their startups. With the information I gathered and my own experiences, I’ve come up with 5 P’s that will (hopefully) make recruitment a bit easier for all of us and especially startups.
Let’s begin, shall we?
People
It is up to the Founders to decide what the culture of their company is going to be. After each new hire, the company culture is affected for the better or worse. Usually for the better, but not always. One person can bring down an empire. I’ve seen it happen.
Decide on your culture and hire people that fit into it
Ruben Daniels, Founder of Cloud 9 (San Francisco/Amsterdam), advises Founders to consciously decide on what you want your culture to be and hire people that fit into the culture
Do you want to have an office where employees come in wearing flip-flops and t-shirts, or do you prefer a more straight-laced suit-wearing atmosphere? Do you have a 9-6 mentality, or will employees have the freedom to choose their hours as long as their work gets done? Will employees be encouraged to speak their minds, or do you prefer a company structured in a more hierarchical way?
There’s no right or wrong, but it is up for you as a founder to decide and to hire people that fit.
Use your network…
So now we have the cultural aspect down, but where do we find the candidates? This one is tough, but most would agree that you must USE AND GROW YOUR NETWORK to find good people. Think of using the connections of current employees, investors, partners, supporters, grandparents, whatever.
It’s simple – ask people for help. For all you know, your grandmother’s bridge partner could have a rock-solid son who absolutely kills it in Frontend Development… Maybe.
…but not too much
Satyam Vaghani, Co-Founder of PernixData (San Jose, CA, [Acquired by Nutanix in 2016]), has expressed a downside to only hiring from within your own network. Why? These people have a similar background, beliefs, etc.
He says hiring people from outside of your network not only brings a diverse perspective to the company, but their joining is a stronger validation of your idea/vision. In addition to this, their perspective can also be very helpful for finding mistakes in engineering earlier on. He also claims that in the early days, Founders will (and should) spend about 70% of their time recruiting, but that’s for you to worry about!
Be & Hire Humans
The last thing I’d like to mention are words of advice from Quentin de Metz, Co-Founder of PriceMatch (Paris [acquired by Priceline in 2015]). He advises Founders against underestimating an Engineer’s communication skills.
It is crucial to find smart people who can code and who are also social human beings – especially in the early days of your startup. A social engineer is much more likely to have a network for you to tap into and they will contribute to the company’s culture.
Now I’m sure you’re dying to begin reading the next four P’s. But, let’s face it, you probably have better things to do than read one blog post for a half hour. However, if you’re up for it, have a look at the last two parts of the series:
Post-funding startup recruitment (2/3): Process & payment
Post-funding startup recruitment (3/3): Perks & Product
Happy hunting (I hate this saying, but it does seem appropriate)!
