We all know a company is only as good as its team, which is why the hiring process is so critical as you build out your venture.

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START UP
SECRETS
An insider’s guide to unfair competitive advantage
Company Formation: Hiring A+ Talent
@underscorevc startupsecrets.com

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Have a Question? Tweet it!
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@underscorevc
@mjskok
#startupsecrets

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 The most important capital = human capital
 You are what you hire
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Why is this important?
startupsecrets.com@underscorevc

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 A’s hire A’s
 B’s hire C’s
 C’s = Cost you your company
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Hire above your grade, never below
startupsecrets.com@underscorevc

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Making the wrong hire
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When you make the wrong hire and lose people, you lose…
 What they know
 Who they know
$25.05B/year in costs associated with knowledge loss from just 1% of employees
 As a startup, your organization risks disorganization The MIT Sloan Review

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Hiring
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS…

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Assess 3 key things…
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EKS IQ
CQ
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability
 Can they be successful at the job?
 Will they really love the job?
 Will they fit and reinforce?

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Can they be successful at the job?
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 Do they have the EKS:
• Experience
• Knowledge
• Skills
 And where applicable, the IQ
• Intelligence
• Smarts

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Will they really love the job?
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 Can you find people’s passion?
• If people love what they do, they tend to do it well
• If they do it well, they tend to be successful
 Can you
• Find a fit for what they love to do?
• Set them up for success?

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My first interview question?
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What are you passionate about?
sometimes my ONLY question!

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Will they really love the job?
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Uncover
their
Passion
Love it
Do
Well
Success
Reward
People who are really passionate about their work
tend to love what they do, take pride in it, and the
results and rewards all follow.
This creates a self reinforcing
positive virtuous cycle of success

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It doesn’t have to all be about work…
“I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.”
ThomasA. Edison

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Another revealing question?
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What would you choose to do if
today was your last day of work?
sometimes my ONLY question!

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Hiring is more than a science…
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Beyond, EKS, IQ…
 Think about what will set someone up for success in your situation / team /
organization
• Street smarts vs. Book smarts?
• Judgment vs. Intellect?
• Effort vs. Ability?
 Think about how to find a FIT…

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EQ: Emotional Quotient
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 Inter-personal skills, connections & relationships are vital in a startup
 3 Examples:
• “Speed teaming”
 Form and re-form rapidly – e.g. around problem solving
 Cross functional and interdisciplinary teams often best
• Customer intimacy
 Often vital in product development, support etc.
• Leverage: building relationships with key stakeholders
 Shareholders – for strong investor support
 Suppliers – for faster time to market
 Partners – for leveraging other’s capabilities

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Startup Secret: Hire for EQ, CQ
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 EKS: Experience, Knowledge, Skills
 IQ: Intelligence Quotient
 EQ: Emotional Quotient
• Fit with your team etc
 CQ: Cultural Quality
• Fit with your values etc
“the fit between personalities was so much more important
than just finding people who were very good”
Dick Costolo, Former CEO Twitter
Wasserman, Noam (2012-03-25). The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup
(Kauffman Foundation Series on Innovation and Entrepreneurship) (p. 216). Princeton University Press

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Example Interview Questions
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 IQ
• What is the most relevant experience, knowledge or skill you bring to this job?
• What is your favorite example of a problem you’ve solved, and how did you solve it?
 EQ
• What are you most proud of in your work interactions?
• What is it that you relate to in our company?
 CQ
• What do you value most?
• What have you most enjoyed in your previous jobs?

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Startup Secret: Hire for EQ, CQ do QC
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 EKS: Experience, Knowledge, Skills
 IQ: Intelligence Quotient
 EQ: Emotional Quotient
• Fit with your team etc
 CQ: Cultural Quality
• Fit with your values etc
 QC: Quality Control
• Is each hire additive or dilutive to your culture?
• Is each hire multiplying or dividing your culture

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Everyone wants ‘A+’ Players

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Hiring A+ Players
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 What does that really mean?
 How can you apply it in practice?

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Startup Secret: Hire 3As
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 Attitude
 Aptitude
 Ability
Note: Ability – is really the broader sense suitability for the job
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability

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Attitude
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Examples of what to look for:
 Problem solving
• Fail fast, learn faster
 Persistence
• To get to the root of the problem, issue, or opportunity
 Participation
• Team

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Startup Secret: Hire 3As, 3+s
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+ Aware (self)
+ Authentic
+ Athlete
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability

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3 key things lead to the “Golden Traingle”
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EKS IQ
CQ
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability
 Can they be successful at the job?
 Will they really love the job?
 Will they fit and reinforce?

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The tools
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EKS IQ
CQ
Attitude
Aptitude
Ability
 EKS
• Resume
 Interviews
 IQ
• Proof, e.g.
 Problem solving
• e.g. engineers – code
 CQ
• Interactions, observation
 Trust the process

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Summary
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 EKS, IQ = can they be successful at the job?
• Check with REAL references
 CQ, EQ (Cultural Quality) = will they fit & reinforce?
• Do QC (Quality Control) for additive vs. dilutive to your culture
 Uncover their Passion = will they really love the job?
• Separate from needs
 Golden Triangle = all the above and A+ players:
• Look for 3As: Attitude, Aptitude, Ability
+++ Aware, Authentic, Athlete

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250+ Warner Music Group
artist websites, 3 site templates,
total creative freedom

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30K Concurrent visitors during
Hurricane Sandy

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add whole foods
340
Unique digital experiences built on a common
Drupal platform – empower store managers
to personalize their store site

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Acquia Hiring
Acquia DNA
 Committed to Awesome
 Do the Right Thing
 Jump In and Own It
 Give Back More
 Inspire a Little Crazy

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Acquia Hiring
PIII
 Passion
 Integrity
 Intelligence
 Initiative

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3 Practical startup hiring tips
BECAUSE I HEAR THESE QUESTIONS ALL THE TIME

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Tip 1: Hiring known quantities…
Just hire people you know & have worked well with in past?
YES
• proven teaming, fit
“startups that relied relatively heavily on the founders’ personal
networks received valuations that were 37% higher than those
received by startups that barely tapped the founders’ networks”
-Wasserman

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Tip 1: Hiring known quantities…
Just hire people you know & have worked well with in past?
YES
• proven teaming, fit
NO
• every situation is different
 “vs. it worked like this in the past!”
• diversity of background can be good
 “think different”

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Tip 2: Balance youth and experience
Youth or Experience? YES!
Youth what’s possible?
+
Experience what to consider
=
Success balance

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Tip 3: Listen, don’t sell!
 Find out what the candidate needs, wants, loves

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Tip 3: Listen, don’t sell!
 Find out what the candidate needs, wants, loves
 And FIT it to a position you have

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Hiring Questions & Interview
Tips for the Perfect FIT

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3 Steps
 3 steps
1. Questioning
2. Listening
3. Observing

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Cultural Quality (CQ) Questions
 What are you passionate about?
• What is the most fun you’ve ever had?
 (Intentionally open to understand work / life passions / balance)
 What have you most enjoyed in your previous jobs?
 What do you love doing day-to-day?
 (What would an ideal day look like?)
 If you could have changed one thing at your previous/current job, what
would it be?
 (Also - listen for why the person didn’t change it)
 What is it you think you’ll enjoy most about this job?

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Cultural Quality (CQ) Questions
Aspirations
 What do you aspire to in life?
• How are you pursuing them?
 What do you want or feel you need to learn?
• (To achieve those aspirations)
• (Listen for difference between want and need)
 What legacy do you hope to leave?
• (What do you hope to be remembered for ?)

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Cultural Quality (CQ) Questions
Values
 What values do you believe in?
• How do you live those values?
 What do you value most?
 Personalize remaining questions for your values
• (e.g. What does Trust mean to you?)

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Cultural Quality (CQ) Questions
Other
 What does balance mean to you in your life?
 What else do you love about you life?
• (Listen for consistency in outside interests with answers regarding work ethics, style etc.)

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Cultural Quality (CQ) Questions
For Managers:
 What does management mean to you?
• (e.g. What is the role of management?)
 What environment do you like to create?
 How do you like to be treated?
• (Compare with answer to previous question)
 Who comes first, your customer or your team?
 Do you judge by effort or results?
 What do you celebrate/reward?
 What do you trust and what do you verify?
 If you were hiring me for this job, what other questions would you ask of
me?

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Emotional Quotient (EQ) Questions
 What do people think of you?
• How accurate is their perception?
 How do you feel you still need to develop personally? (Look for self
respect and yet self awareness)
 What work relationships are you most proud of and why?
 What are examples of work interactions you are most proud of and why?
 What have you learned from your best and worst work relationships?
 What is it that you relate to in our company?

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Emotional Quotient (EQ) Questions
For Managers
 How would people describe your management style?
• (Compare with the CQ manager answers)
 How do you like to be treated?
• (Consistent with how you treat others?)

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Intelligence Quotient (IQ) Questions
NOTE: there are many sources of these and they need to be specific to the job. Try to find
practical instantiations and real world tests.
 What is the most relevant Experience, Knowledge or Skill (EKS) you
bring to the job?
 How do you experiment?
 In your previous role(s), what did you learn, prove and act on?
 What are examples of problems that arose and where did they lead you?
 What is your favorite example of a problem you’ve solved, and how did
you solve it?

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My final questions:
What else should we know about you?
You will be amazed at what comes out!

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3 Steps to discern 3 things…
 3 steps
1. Questioning
2. Listening
3. Observing
 Can you hear and separate what your candidate
• needs ?
• wants ?
• loves ?

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My purely personal tips…
 Agree your agenda
• “Get to know you” first
 (You are looking for CQ, EQ)
• Then evaluate IQ
 Break down EKS
 Help the interviewee get comfortable and enable them to be authentic
 If necessary take them for a walk or get out of the office
 Leave time to be questioned
• Learn from what is asked of you

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T 617.303.0064
@underscorevc
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10th Floor, Boston, MA 02109,
USA