Ravi Punj

I don’t care where a candidate used to work. Before Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, he worked for a hedge fund. Before Elon Musk founded PayPal, he worked for a Canadian bank. Before Sara Blakely founded Spanx, she sold fax machines. It doesn’t matter what they 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. It matters what they're 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. If someone worked for a hot company, it doesn’t mean they made the company hot. It just means they worked for a hot company. They might have been a seven. Or worse. I’ll take ability over experience every time. I can teach skills, I can’t teach attitude. But how do I assess ability? I can’t squeeze that into a LinkedIn post, but... We ran a whole workshop on hiring high-potential growth leaders. Step-by-step instrux: 1. How to write a 🧲 job description (plus examples) 2. Where to look for the best people 3. Interview questions, plus good and bad answers 4. How to secure a top candidate, even with a smaller salary You can access the recording, worksheet & templates. https://lnkd.in/eh8eaVUv

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I built & launched my first app in the app store when I was in Grade 6 (~13 years old). It was a special moment. While the app totally failed. The lesson it taught me changed the course of my life. The story goes...I'm 12-13 years old. Which means, it was time. Time to walk to school by myself. Huge life milestone. Except for one problem. I'd get to school, but would often forget to let me parents know I arrived. Leading to confusion and sometimes panic. So I realized, I could solve this by one of two ways. 1) Be a normal 13-year-old and just go on with my life as one should + eat my lunchables 2) Decide to build an app and launch it into the app store that would text my parents when I arrived So I went with number 2. We called it "Walk2SchoolSafe". Genius I know. The "2" was branding gold we thought. A few weeks went by, and we had our first working app. It sucked. Barely worked. But we loved it. Before we knew it - it was live in the app store! I remember one day after gym class my grade 6 co-founder comes up to me. And discreetly hands me a few dollars in coins. Whispers in my ear "this is the month's ad revenue" because we put some sketchy banner ads on the app. Now, we didn't get rich. But I got a taste of solving a real-world problem, with technology. And it was magic. I've carried that same thinking with me since then.

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If I was an A player / high performer seeking employment right now, I'd look for jobs at organizations running one of these business operating systems: Scaling Up: A Gazelles Company, Metronomics, or EOS - Entrepreneurial Operating System. There are several reasons for this: -Core Values-Driven CEOs: Many will have CEOs that actually live their company core values (and insist everyone else does, too), giving you the best chance possible to thrive -A Player Team: Because these organizations are more likely to use Topgrading to hire, you'd be part of a drama-free, A Player team (do not underestimate the importance of this; if you've had bad team members or have been dismayed by workplace drama, you understand) -Get Paid More: Compensation will likely be at the high end for your role because these organizations understand the value the A Player creates -5D Focused Leadership Teams: Leadership teams are focused on Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team, resulting in less workplace politics (doing the wrong thing for the wrong reason) and way less stupidity from leaders All of these things will result in the most fulfilling working environment you've ever had. Remember the "Great resignation"? That may as well have been a myth to my clients. Why? Nobody leaves an A player team. NOBODY. That was a problem for companies that don't live there core values and that tolerate B and C players. Unfortunately, there isn't a public list of these companies. That would be one incredible A Player recruitment website. But there are a few things A players can do to find these employers: 1. Reach out to the organizations above to find out if they know of companies in your area using their systems/tools 2. Reach out to your local chapter of Entrepreneurs' Organization or Young Presidents' Organization - that's where the self-aware leaders using these systems/tools congregate ***Important interview question all candidates for all candidates to ask: Is your CEO a member of EO or YPO? Self-aware leaders tend to join these peer learning associations, and that's the kind of leader you generally want as an employer/leader.*** 3. Reach out to Metronomics, Scaling Up, or EOS coaches in your area to find out which of their clients is currently hiring. I'll be posting some of my clients' open positions - as well as background on the company - here in the near future. Find a company that is deserving of your behavior and talents. #Metronomics #ScalingUp #EOS #Hiring #JobSeekers #Jobsearch #employerofchoice #topgrading #fivedysfunctionsofateam #corevalues #YPO #EO #Grovertalent #talent #Aplayers #Aplayerhiring

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After years of interviewing job candidates for Vimcal, I found a surprising trend amongst the best people: They made a career change at some point. Hear me out 👇 It takes guts and grinding to throw away everything you went to school for and start from scratch. But that's exactly what makes these people great (especially for a startup): * Got that underdog energy * Strong 0-to-1 muscle * Creative by accident from combining the knowledge of their past field * Sees everything with fresh eyes * Willing to eat sh*t today for a better tomorrow * High risk/pain tolerance * Picks up new skills in a short time I realized this after noticing that over half the Vimcal team started their careers doing something completely different than what they're doing now. * Our mobile engineer was a lawyer for 20+ years. When he decided to learn iOS programming, he woke up an hour earlier every morning before his lawyer job to answer Stack Overflow questions. When we interviewed him he was a top 0.1% answerer. DAWG. * Our designer is a former growth marketer who taught himself design. As a result his work is both beautiful AND converts well, which is a hard combo to find. * Our customer support rep was an English teacher. If she can deal with adolescent tantrums, she can easily handle corporate adults. etc. etc. Once I started seeing this pattern I saw it everywhere. Many high performers start in a field that's not meant for them but once they make the jump to something that's a better fit, that's when they really take off. So all this to say — if you're hiring and you come across an oddball candidate, consider yourself lucky.

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🚨 Hiring alert! 👇 EDIT: SOOO MUCH INTEREST, AFTER THIS POINT I'M NO LONGER SENDING EARLY ACCESS JD TO THOSE THAT LIKE THE POST. SORRY! EDIT: IF YOU HAVE LIKED THE POST BUT NOT YET RECEIVED THE JD, PLEASE SEND ME A CONNECTION REQUEST SO I CAN MESSAGE YOU. I'll soon be hiring for a small number of roles to work with me and with a handful of startups that I'm working with. See image for the fundamental requirements I'm looking for. I don't hire for these roles often so they are likely to be like tix for Fred Again shows... there one minute, gone the next 😉 So to get early access, like this post and I will directly send you the JD before it goes live. Please tag the stars in your network that I should be lucky to work with.

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Do we give candidates sufficient chance to ask Qs in our interviews? ✋ Hiring is a 2-way street - offering candidatew the time to learn about the org, team, role, etc., isn't best practice - IMO it's a responsibility. We looked at 175k interviews to find out how often it happens. 🔍 In most orgs, candidates get the chance to ask Qs in 65-90% of their interviews - with an average of 78%. The surprise? A massive range across orgs. Some orgs offer candidates the oppty to ask Qs in as high as 96% of interviews 🙌 and others as few as 6% of interviews 🤯 We also saw interesting trends as we dug deeper: BY INTERVIEW STAGE ➡ Recruiters are 8% LESS likely to give candidates time for questions (78%) vs. HMs (83%). Is this because as recruiters we're time-strapped? ENG ⚙️ VS. SALES 💼 Eng interviews are more likely to give candidates a chance to ask questions (83%) vs. Sales (79%). This tracks with our analysis that also finds Eng interviews tend to be more structured. GENDER IMPACT 🚺 🚹 Female recruiters AND candidates are more likely to prioritize questions. Female candidates consistently ask Qs at a higher rate across stages and gender pairs by 2-6%. Meanwhile, overall F recruiters and HMs are more likely to be asked Qs by candidates. ❓ Questions ❓ * Should every interview include the chance for candidate Qs? * What % of interviews did you expect to offer candidates a Q oppty? * How do you prep your teams to effectively answer candidate Qs?

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Pangea was in the YC batch when Brian Chesky said "happy employees make happy customers." I wrote it down and it became my own mantra. I hired people to do sales, CS, product, marketing etc, and abstracted myself out of the day-to-day. We had a big beautiful office and different teams with different KPIs. But we became slow - every decision was voted on. We scoped out new product that would take months to release. And our burn went through the roof. That is why Brian's talk is now centered around "founder mode" Founder Mode means you don't hire sales people - the founder does sales. You don't hire "product" (especially pre-pmf) - the sales and customer support calls you have drive iteration. And when the founder is the one doing all 3 - you move A LOT FASTER. Founder mode is about rolling up your sleeves, making decisions, and holding high standards. It's about being in the weeds - even after you hire folks to expand your production capabilities. It's your company, run it. (just don't be a jerk)

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Tbh, it's more stressful to walk up to a random girl at a bar than cold-calling prospects 😂 1. Gen X Dating: - You see someone you don't know, walk up to them, introduce yourself, woo them. - A slow, manual process that you can't do en masse. - You get a lot of rejections because they don't know you. - Your prospects don't share your information with other prospects. Gen X Customer Acquisition: - You cold call prospects, try to woo them over, get rejected, smoke & snort (re: The Wolf of Wall Street), and do it again - Your targets often don't know much about you or each other. - Background checks rarely happen. 2. Gen M Dating: - Started to introduce friends to friends, or would hold parties where people would strike it off. - Later on, dating apps came out and people realized the importance of self-appeal. Gen M Customer Acquisition: - Offline shows, conferences, private invite-only events where you connect with potential customers. - SEO and self-serve marketing became a big thing. 3. Gen Z Dating - Showcase yourself differently, or share different facets of who you are based on which platform you are on. - Message each other in copious amounts before actually meeting up. - Sometimes, offline meet ups don't even happen - Less texting, more pictures and videos - Super easy to find if your date is legit or is a fraud. Gen Z Customer Acquisition: - SEO & Content Marketing reigns supreme. - Organic inbound is the way to go - Not only the suppliers but also the buyers prefer not to meet in person, or even over the phone. - Text-based marketing is giving way to image and video-based marketing. - Background checks and searching for information is a must. What will be the trend for Gen Alpha dating & Customer Acquisition?

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I get criticized by my employees constantly. And that is 💯 by design 👇 In most companies, feedback flows downward. Engineers code. Marketers market. Customer service handles complaints. We do things differently. We’ve worked really hard to try to create a culture where feedback flows freely across all levels and departments. Everyone gives feedback on everything, even CEO decisions. It's not just allowed. It's expected. Here's why: 1. Diverse perspectives elevate quality. Members of our team interact with users daily. They know pain points we've never considered. Their insights have dramatically improved our demos and overall product experience. 2. Open communication flourishes. When a CEO's work can be critiqued by anyone, it breaks down barriers. We've seen a huge increase in cross-department collaboration since implementing this approach. 3. Innovation emerges from unexpected places. A team member's suggestion led to a complete overhaul of our onboarding process. It cut our user drop-off rate by 40%. 4. Reality checks become routine. Frontline feedback keeps our strategies grounded. We've scrapped entire feature plans based on insights from our customer service team. 5. Cross-departmental understanding deepens. When support contributes to product development, they provide better assistance to users. Our average resolution time has decreased by 25%. Implementation was not easy. It required: • Structured feedback processes • Valuing criticism, regardless of source • Publicly acting on valuable input We created "forcing functions" - mandatory public + private feedback sessions where team members from different departments critique each other's work. For example, our monthly "Demo Day" where team members provide direct feedback on product demos. These sessions ensure that: 1. Feedback is given regularly, not just when convenient 2. All team members, regardless of position, participate 3. Good ideas don't get lost in the hierarchy The impact? • We iterate faster because we have more good ideas • People feel valued & are therefore more involve This approach is now core to our culture. It can be uncomfortable. But the discomfort drives growth. By ensuring the best ideas are heard and implemented, regardless of origin, we've built a more innovative, responsive company. The next time you're seeking solutions, consider looking beyond the usual suspects. The best idea might come from an unexpected source. #leadership #startup #entrepreneurship #culture

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We’ve all heard the horror stories about hiring contractors. For Ali Houssain Sareini and the SABRES team, with so much riding on their biggest project, they couldn’t afford to make a bad hire. That’s when they turned to Arc. Here’s what made the difference: 1) 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 Arc’s rigorous pre-screening process meant every candidate was vetted, saving their team hours of work. 2) 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 With Arc’s matching system (and help from Arc’s team), they found the right talent without wasting time. 3) 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 + 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 They hired a freelancer quickly with the skills of top engineers. With the help of a top engineer from the Arc network, they finished a project they couldn’t have completed on their own. Hearing how we helped them pull off such a big win is why we do what we do. Looking to hire proven dev, design, or marketing talent in just a few days? Shoot me a DM, I’d love to help.

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Also mentioned in Khosla Ventures' “How to Hire” post (link in comments) is advice on choosing search firms for startups. I agree with them–and, I’m biased :-)–that smaller firms ARE typically more attuned to early-stage companies, and I love the suggestion to make judgements based on the quality of the firm’s placements and recent runner ups. Look at work product, not just brands and logos. Absolutely, yes. BUT there’s one thing they talk about that I think is somewhat contradictory… the advice that startups should choose a search firm based on their network and being able to name several qualified people off the top of their head. It’s a strategy that feels dissonant from the ideas mentioned just above on value creation vs. value protection roles. If you’re looking for search firms that specialize in a specific network, who have just run five similar searches in a row, and who know exactly the kinds of people who are going to be “good” for the search… they’re probably looking at the “obvious” hires, the people that have “seen it and done it” a lot of times.   Yet, as they explain, for value creation roles, those *aren’t* the people that you want. So I would amend this: for value protection roles, where you don’t need someone who thinks about things anew, you don’t need someone to build your category defining business that has never existed before–hire the firm with the network. BUT, for all the roles that are value *creating* roles that have never existed before in another company in the same way *because* you are a startup and disrupting your category in a way no one else ever has, then you should be looking to hire a search firm that spends the time to deeply understand your problems and opportunities and that can offer unique strategies about how to identify and attract the transformative candidates that are not obvious, that are not on the top of mind, but will ultimately change the trajectory of your business.

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Reaching the end of our YCombinator batch, one thing is for sure - YC's value goes well beyond money. Here's what I found there: -An infectious builder energy -An abundance of smart minds -An overwhelming amount of goodwill -Awkward nerd handshakes -New friends in every major US and Europe city -A clearer picture of the future -A despair -> euphoria -> despair rollercoaster shared by everyone on a daily basis Without being too dramatic, YC is one of the foundational bricks for future-building. Let's keep building. Garry Tan Aaron Epstein

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Is work becoming more transactional? I often see posts that more and more people are feeling disconnected from their job and putting in the minimum time. How do we reverse this trend? Is this across all companies and industries? Have return-to-office mandates and layoffs fundamentally changed the relationship between employers and employees? I've always gravitated towards opportunities where I can bring my whole self to work, where the mission resonates, and people elevate each other. At the end of the day, work can be much more than a paycheck. #FutureOfWork #Leadership #Motivation

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Here's a new list of 36 growing Y Combinator backed startups, with < 50 employees, hiring for REMOTE roles: 1) sync. - lip sync tool (US remote / India remote) 2) DevCycle - feature flag management (US remote / Canada remote) 3) Reprompt (YC W24) - AI agents for location (US remote) 4) Capi Money - international supply payments (US remote) 5) FlexDesk - office portfolio management (US remote) 6) TeamOut (YC W22) - marketplace for team retreat venues (US remote) 7) VectorShift - gen AI automations platform (India remote) 8) Fella & Delilah - telehealth clinic for obesity (US remote) 9) Sully.ai - AI medical employees for healthcare (US remote) 10) CandorIQ - headcount & compensation management (US remote) 11) Infisical - open-source secrets manager for developers (remote) 12) Optery - remove private info from internet (remote) 13) Wasp - enterprise web apps (remote global) 14) LunaJoy Health - mental health care for women (remote US) 15) doola - business-in-a-box for LLCs (remote US) 16) MedMe Health (YC W21) - software for pharmacies (remote global) 17) Cascading AI (YC S23) AI - AI agents for banking (remote US) 18) Myria - marketplace of luxury services (remote US) 19) Ply Health (YC S24) - get providers in-network with payers (remote US) 20) AuthZed - open source permissions database (remote US & EU) 21) PostEra - medicinal chemistry (remote US) 22) Firecrawl - extract AI ready data from web (remote US & BR) 23) Vital - API for at-home health data (remote US) 24) Wanderlog - travel planner (remote US) 25) Toma (YC W24) - AI for auto dealerships (remote US) 26) Ascen - EOR for the staffing industry (remote global) 27) Phonely (YC S24) - AI call centers (remote US) 28) Handle.com - payments for construction suppliers (remote US) 29) QuestDB - open source time series database (remote US) 30) SuperTokens - open source user authentication (remote US) 31) Embrace - mobile observability platform (remote global) 32) Banner Technologies - CRE capital spend management (remote US) 33) Lightly - toolkit for building in AI (remote global) 34) Extern - professional experiences (remote US) 35) RocketLit - learning and assessment platform (remote US) 36) Great Question - user research on autopilot (remote AU) Direct links to their career pages in the comments. Thanks Ben Lang for the list 💜

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Spoke to a prominent VC the other day who said that engineering hiring at most startups is down by 2/3 😮 Less people is great for the pnl but you're also exposed to more points of failure. Now every hire counts 💯 The cost of failure is your business not just 💰 Here's how I'd approach startup hiring if I were a pre-Series A CEO: > Get an Applicant Tracking System and use it. > Train your HMs > Set expectations > Agree to record everything > Conduct thorough research before GTM > Prepare everything before you launch > Standardise every step > Treat the candidate like a customer > Move fast There is so much more but if you start here jeez you'll be above the quality threshold. Need help .... DM me for a free audit 🆘 ✌️

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What YesMadam has done is so inhuman and disappointing. Conducting a survey and then firing 100 employees instead of addressing the actual issues feels less like management and more like a cruel joke. Such actions reflect poorly on company culture. Scaring remaining employees into overworking isn’t just inhumane but also counterproductive. Training new hires after mass layoffs wastes resources and morale. It's like asking someone if they're afraid of heights, and when they say yes, pushing them off a building. Where’s the logic in that? If this is a PR stunt, as it appears, shame on Yes Madam for stooping so low for attention.

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1 unexpected advice a founder gave to my startup When I just started hanging out with tech founders in Toronto, there was one advice an exited founder gave me. First I smiled, then immediately followed it. Record your calls with people and watch it. Why? We screw up 90% of our potential with our own communication style. Might be the most cringe and worthy exercise ever. “Basically’ “yeah no”, “no ya”, not being able to directly answer a question and sooo many more surprises. Communication is everything, especially in an early startup. Not smart podcasts and books (oh no how so😂?) ⚡️Follow me for unfiltered advice on your career and startups⚡️ Shoutout to Shopify & Jocelyne Murphy for hosting cozy pitch afternoons at Shopify office.

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Canada's attempt to poach H-1B talent from the US isn't going as planned. Here's what you should know. 🇨🇦🇺🇸 Context: In July 2023, Canada launched something called "Tech Talent Strategy," targeting US-based H-1B holders. They said they’ll offer 10,000 open work permits to eligible H-1B visa holders from America. Within the first 48 hours, their cap was met. BUT, despite 10,000 initial applications, only 1,205 actually moved in the first year. Still, if you're considering a move to Canada, below are the benefits of this program: ✅ Key benefits of Canada's program: - Open work permit: Not tied to a specific employer like H-1B - Faster path to permanent residency: Potential self-sponsorship after just one year - Work authorization for all adult dependents: Unlike restricted spousal work authorization in the US - No country-specific quotas: Avoiding long waits faced by some nationalities in the US system - Stability: Less uncertainty compared to the US H-1B lottery and renewal process Canada offers a chance to reset your immigration journey in a country with a growing tech scene and high quality of life. Remember, it's not one-size-fits-all. Your career stage, family situation, and long-term goals all play a role in this decision. Please re-share this post so it helps more people! 🙏 Finally, if you'd like to book a coaching call with me to work on your talent visa, publish a book, grow on social media, or more, check: https://lnkd.in/gX2JJ9eU :) #unshackled #immigration #USA #canada #o1 #h1b #eb1 #visas #entrepreneurship #writing #freeresources #freeguides #layoffs

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