Unconventional Secrets to Hiring a Great Team as a Startup

Within conventional startup wisdom, the common refrain when it comes to hiring goes something like "Only hire A players" or "Only hire people smarter than you." These neat sound bites sound great -- who wouldn't want to hire a rock star with incredible pedigree for every role in the organization? Who wouldn't want to surround themselves with more intellectual horsepower?

Yet, the reality of limited budgets, lack of early traction & minimal brand awareness, those neat sound bites can be all but impossible to actualize. Unless you're remarkably well-funded, you likely can't afford the person with the incredible resume who is being hotly recruited by a fortune 1,000 company. Unless you're remarkably well-networked or you've been blessed with an underlying business so sexy & novel that you have received early press & attention, you likely don't have the brand reputation to attract inbound interest of that talent level. So what, then, are you as an entrepreneur to do?

Fortunately, the answer is not simply "Settle for the talent that is left over from the big guys." With a little additional work  &  some willingness to embrace the counter intuitive maneuvers, you can find talent every bit as good as the candidates going to the big guys while operating within the constraints that go alongside being an early stage business. 

Focus on where others are not.  Every venture-funded tech firm is looking to hire engineers from the Stanford computer science program. Every hedge fund is looking to hire professionals who have apprenticed at Goldman Sachs. As a relatively unknown, cash-strapped startup, it's hard to compete for recruits with the Googles of the world, since you can't exactly offer the brand, compensation or perks that they can.

Rather than spend your precious time competing with global leaders as you build your team, look for pools of talent where you can stand out from the crowd. Understand signaling but don't become preoccupied with pedigree. Do not dismiss talent just because it is not where you expect to find it. Outside of a candidate's traditional qualifications, go a step further by looking for subtle signals that indicate relevant strengths. Hire for character not pedigree, candidates who have taken the time to pursue being an Eagle Scout or Cadet Colonel or Distinguished Order of Merit. These can be indicators of development strengths like being analytical, data-oriented or simply success under deadline or adverse condition.

Find candidates for roles where they can play to their strengths. Many candidates do not get considered for roles by virtue of a weakness that has little to no bearing on their ability to perform all their major job functions. Just because a brand marketing candidate was not able to answer your brain teaser about the average revenue of a gas station does not mean he is not a good marketer; it simply means he doesn't think analytically the way a good investment banking candidate would. Engineers who may be extraordinary coders but are too shy to aggressively sell themselves in an interview process can be amazing developers when given an environment in which to flourish  &  grow even though they may never win any public speaking awards. The point is to be disciplined about not disqualifying candidates based on weaknesses that have little to no bearing on their ability to do the job for which they are being hired.

Build a place where people do not live for the weekend.The dialogue emphasizing the importance of culture is nearly incessant,  &  yet when faced with providing concrete examples of what defines great culture, most people are hard-pressed to provide an easily understandable construct. In part, this is because culture must feel inherently authentic to the organization in which it has been born, making it unique to each organization. You can't fake culture  &  you can't follow a playbook. Instead, you have to find ways to create a culture that makes sense for your company  &  your team.

This translate s  into  organic culture driven activities that are not business sponsored yet occur naturally like. These could be game nights, book clubs or even skill based training that your team is seeking! Think outside the box & create the place you always wanted that inspires & motivates people to belong to something.