Hiring Your Dream Team

Two people, one wearing a light-colored jacket and the other in a dark suit, are shaking hands in an office setting near a window and a green potted plant on a desk.

Now that you’ve received funding and are ready to go, building your dream team is your next big mission. Strategic hiring can add or subtract momentum:

Analyse Which Gaps you Need to Fill, and Prioritize
While you might be tempted to hire the big names or the people you always dreamed of working with, it’s key to focus on what you actually need right now. Which gaps do you need to fill right now to get to your next milestones? What core competencies are missing to make this successful? Who will be helping you achieve the next big step?

Once you know the role profiles, decide if you need to hire them full-time, part-time or as a consultant. Review your strategic plans and financial model to see what makes most sense. If needed, discuss your hiring plans first with your mentors, advisors or board members.

Leverage your Network & Your Investors
Once you understand which roles need to be filled as soon as possible, write a short role description. This will make it crystal clear what you need, and can help you look for the right candidates in your own network or contacts. It is also handy to have when you ask your board, advisors, and investors for recommendations or introductions. The best early hires will probably come through trusted referrals or are people you’ve collaborated with previously.

Be Mindful about your Culture & Values
Every hire will shape your company culture, so it’s key to decide what company you want to build very early on, and hire people who reflect and amplify those values. Culture is much easier to set when you’re five people than when you’re fifty, or five hundred.

You might be tempted to “panic hire” just to fill a gap, and hire someone who is just “good enough”. But the wrong hire in a key early role can slow you down more than having the role unfilled. If in doubt or you’re not having a good “gut feel” about the person, keep looking. This will likely make you more successful in the long run.

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Hiring Your Dream Team​

Hiring Your Dream Team