Zach Goldberg’s Post

Attention #founders: You already know that those first few hires you make are critically important. What you may not know is that it’s not just about the skills and experience. Yes, you absolutely need people around you who can bring the skillsets to build your product and get it to market. But you also need those people to be the shepherds of the culture that you want to build in your organization. So when you’re interviewing and making those crucial early-hire decisions, think about these: ✨ How does this person communicate? Are they transparent and authentic in how they show up every day? ✨ Are they adaptable and ready to embrace change? As you grow, things will change. Are these people going to lead by example and grow and evolve as your company does? ✨ Do they lean into celebrating wins and learning from failures, whether those wins or failures belong to them or to someone else? ✨ Are they going to create an environment that respects diversity of thought and background, and one that’s going to encourage respectful and healthy dialogue and debate in the service of innovation? ✨ Are they selfless and team-first? As your organization grows, they’ll need to be able to let go. Territorialism kills. Failing to spend the time to screen and hire for culture up front will result in a lot more time and effort down the road, when you find yourself trying to course-correct and rebuild the broken culture that “just happened” while you were focused on other things. #startup #culture

Here is my breakdown of what makes the 26 sec interaction special. 1. Kates Body language - lean in. Show that the person really matters and you have full attention on them. 2. Kates Calm and composed voice. 3. Kate paints a vivid emotionally strong positive outcome.- "Its going to be the most Amazing interview ever". 4. After addressing emotion, Kate then bring attention to the logical part of the person with reasoning. - "You know Why?" 5. Kate uses the magic word - "Because -" 6. Kate shows you dont have to do it all alone. "Because *WE* have decided it to be." 7. Kate then shows I am your ally. "You can ask me anything. Everything is going to be amazing." 8. Kate shows trust in the persons ability. "You got this." I would do one small thing differently though.. 1. "You don't have to be scared." - Human mind is not good at negating negatives. The reporters mind will likely focus on the word "scared" even though the message is don't be scared. I would rather say for example, "Tell me the last time when you were super confident. When you chose to be confident." I have seen this puts the person immediately in confident state.

The main job of a founder, beyond a certain point is crystal clear: 1. Hunting down top talent 2. Making sure my team crushes it in their roles In the beginning, founders are wearing more hats than a hat store. From putting out fires to listening to user complaints, founders are knee-deep in it all. But as the company grows and scales, the focus shifts to building an all-star team that can get stuff done. Sure, founders may have a tech background, but it's key to trust the VP of Engineering and Senior Engineers to handle the coding nitty-gritty. Founders can offer guidance on the big picture technical stuff and make strategic decisions. And let's face it, closing deals might not be the best use of a founder's time once the VP of Sales has perfected their pitch. Founders can still roll up their sleeves and dive into the details, but their time is better spent on strategic moves that propel the company forward. By focusing on recruiting, coaching, vision-setting, alignment, and goal-setting, founders can steer their company towards victory. #founders #leadership #growth #strategy #success

If you want to learn how to hire strong engineers, this episode is for you. With years of leadership at YouTube and Slack, Matt Schweitz unpacks Bit Complete’s approach to interviews, essential for building teams that work closely with their Fortune 500 and high-growth early-stage startup clients. Key takeaway: Unlike some companies that focus solely on raw technical talent, Bit Complete prioritizes three essentials: the ability to engage in thoughtful discussions, practical problem-solving skills that are representative of day-to-day tasks, and the inclination to collaborate.

If you're a Founder/early-stage tech executive, you're planning and thinking about the rest of H2. And early 2025. And the rest of 2025. What valuable OKRs will be missed, simply because you aren't ready for full-time functional leadership? What piece of internal feedback keeps flaring up? Do you have the leadership in place to support the solution? Trying to keep your equity pool tight and headcount intentional? Through the end of 2024, Fractyl.co is offering free job postings for startups and small tech companies. Sign up and get your FTE or fractional roles posted today and see the value your team needs before EOY. Join Fractyl here >> https://fractyl.co/

Jack Altman, recently tweeted: "Aside from getting PMF, the most important thing a founder can do in the early days is make their first 10 hires be outstanding. Almost every founder of a successful company can tell you detailed stories of the heroics committed by their earliest employees." This resonates deeply with my experience. As a recruiter for UHNW entrepreneurs, I've discovered a fascinating paradox: I'm essentially a recruiter for the world's most discerning recruiters - founders themselves. The best founders aren't just visionaries or strategists. They're master talent magnets, constantly attracting and retaining the brightest minds to elevate their organizations. It's a skill that separates the good from the truly great. What I've learned: 🔎 Top founders treat hiring as their most critical function, not a delegated afterthought. 🔎 They're always recruiting, whether in formal interviews or casual conversations at industry events. 🔎 Their ability to articulate a compelling vision isn't just for investors - it's their secret weapon in attracting top-tier talent. 🔎 They understand that each hire should raise the bar, not just maintain it. 🔎 The best are humble enough to hire people smarter than themselves. In essence, the founder's journey is a continuous process of organizational upskilling through strategic recruitment. It's not just about building a product or service; it's about building a team that can outperform, outthink, and outmaneuver the competition. As I navigate this world of elite talent acquisition, I'm constantly inspired by these founders who recognize that their ultimate product isn't what they sell - it's the team they build. Altman's words ring true - those first hires are indeed the cornerstones of future success. They're not just employees; they're the co-architects of the company's culture, the trailblazers who set standards, and often the future leaders who scale the organization. In my role, I'm privileged to witness the "heroics" Altman mentions firsthand. These aren't just anecdotes; they're the building blocks of billion-dollar enterprises. So, to echo Altman's sentiment: How much emphasis do you place on those crucial early hires? And for the founders out there, what stories of "heroics" from your early team members have shaped your company's journey? #Entrepreneurship #TalentAcquisition #Leadership #FounderInsights

When your business scales rapidly, the initial team that helped build your foundation might struggle to keep pace. As demands and complexities increase, the skills and expertise needed evolve. Early-stage employees often thrive in startup environments but may lack the experience required for larger operations. To ensure continued growth, it's crucial to assess your team’s capabilities and bring in new talent with the right expertise. This doesn't diminish the contributions of your initial team; rather, it's a necessary evolution. By recognizing and addressing these gaps, you can sustain momentum and achieve long-term success.

How startups price their products and services is a key question. There is more to it than just a simple calculation. In this interview, product management expert Elias Lieberich spells out considerations that should go into determining pricing. Elias spent 12 years at Google and YouTube leading product and engineering teams in the US and Europe. He led the pricing and packaging in YouTube and pricing is one of his favorite Product Management topics. He founded Product Matters in 2021 to advise European companies on product management topics. Read the full interview: https://lnkd.in/dVvKP2uu #productmanagement #productpricing #pricing #business #interview

Michael Gruen Spotlight Interview of the TechYeet Executives Club What makes someone a good or effective leader? Being open-minded and self-aware are two critical traits of effective leaders. Good leaders empower people with the context, authority, and autonomy necessary to make great decisions and they foster environments of psychological safety that reward risk taking and innovation. Additionally, they create the time and space for the team to be successful by shielding them from external pressures and stakeholders. What is the best leadership advice you have ever been given? When there is a crisis, the best thing to do is slow down, take a deep breath, and put the situation into perspective. Is anyone going to die? Probably not. Then gather the minimal set of people necessary to address the crisis. What is your approach for hiring the right people for the team? I’m risk averse when it comes to hiring and would much rather “missout” on a great hire than make a mishire. I start by leveraging my network as much as possible – this includes getting input and feedback about the role itself and not just referrals. For individual candidates, I focus on soft skills, character, and alignment with their career goals. Hard skills are important but can also be taught. In the end, I want a good fit where there is room for growth but not too steep of a learning curve for them to be successful. What is the funniest tech-related mishap you've encountered? Maybe not the “funniest” but certainly memorable was at my first job. I wrote an install script that inadvertently deleted an entire web server while I was walking the customer through it on the phone. Fortunately, after the expletives stopped, the customer was very understanding and had backups. Unfortunately, the backups were on tape and it took several hours to restore. #executives #leadership #tech #community #techyeet

My favorite interview question to ask tech Founders/CEOs, and why I find it so insightful: I've found that interviewing as a product person with the founder or CEO of a tech startup is a unique challenge. Founders are wildly passionate about their products, and discussions can become a minefield if I come unprepared. This is my best shot to determine if this is a leader and a company I can vibe with, but I usually only get a few minutes for a short Q&A. So here's my favorite question to ask a tech founder (or a potential peer on the leadership team about the founder): Q: "How do you empower your leadership to perform at their highest levels?" First, this question usually catches them off guard and they pause before answering. That's good, founders have ready-packaged answers for most questions about their business and the market, I like to see how a founder deals with the unexpected. How does the answer paint the founder as a people manager? Are they ruling with an iron fist, extreme empathy, or something in between? Do they leave the details to others, get moderately involved, or micromanage every move? Do they know what empowerment is, do they practice it? Did I hear anything about goals, planning, and measurement - or did it sound ad-hoc and reactionary? I keep using this question because it illuminates so much about a founder, their leadership team, and the company culture I might be joining. Give it a shot and let me know how it works (and please tell me your favorite interview question for a founder).