Finding and keeping
great startup people
Daniel Debow
co-founder + co-CEO | rypple

Men wanted: For hazardous journey.
Small wages, bitter cold, long months
of complete darkness, constant
danger, safe return doubtful. Honour
and recognition in case of success.
* Sir Earnest Shackleton
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1. Recruiting, a matter of life-or-death
Agenda
2. Always be recruiting
3. The Ideal Start up person
4. Bring them onboard
5. How to Keep them
* Not covering: job boards, recruiters, technology, etc…
3

Always be recruiting
Punchline
Discovering great people is everyone’s job
Take the time. Get it right
Get it right, from the beginning
A-teams attract A-players
4

About me
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our 1st startup | Workbrain
My role
$120
Business Plan
108
Operations
$100
89
Marketing
(US$ millions)
$80 Corp Dev
57
$60
We
34
$40
sold in
17
$20
2007 for
4
0
$0
$227 MM
2000 2002 2004 2006
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How did Workbrain get there?
We hired 100’s of great people
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>500
The number of people I’ve
interview or hired since 2000
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our latest startup | rypple
13 people…and counting
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1. Recruiting is life-or-death at a start-up
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Get the best now
...Avoid the headache later
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You can’t do what a Big Company does
Stakes are much higher for you
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2.Always be recruiting
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Stars turn up
anytime & anywhere
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Dig your well before you need water
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It takes time to…
develop trust
listen to & understand their concerns
discover that magical fit
Engage people early
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How to find people
Without spending $$$
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Don’t rely on recruiters
or ads in the early days
You should do the leg work
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Network, Network, Network
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swapping business cards is not networking
Networking means helping people*
* helping people is good Karma 20

Be visible
participate
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Get smart friends to look for you
A-players recommend A-candidates
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Get your team involved
It’s everyone’s job to discover your next star 23

3.Who is the ideal candidate?
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Different people at different stages
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In general
you need people who...
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…are passionate about something
Demonstrates persistence, dedication, intensity
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…are involved in something
in school, sports, bands, charities…
Demonstrates they play nice with people
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…have started something
Demonstrates that
they saw something that didn’t
exist & they made it exist
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…demonstrate
Focus, attention to detail, ability to learn
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…and are
way smarter
than you
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In the beginning,
you need people who are...
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Creators Love Ambiguity
Passionate Biased to Action
Adaptive Interesting
Really smart Dreamers
Pragmatic Business savvy
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How to find the right people
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People like the idea of a start up
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Few understand the reality of it
Don’t sugar coat
“Men wanted: For hazardous journey.
Small wages, bitter cold, long months
of complete darkness, constant
danger, safe return doubtful. Honour
and recognition in case of success.”
* Sir Earnest Shackleton
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Honesty, the name of the game
Pays $2,000 after training to weed out bad fits!
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don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole
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Make sure they truly believe in your idea
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Skin in the game
Give them an opportunity to invest
40

See how they react to...
..more equity but less salary
Do they really believe?
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Have a hiring plan
Want ambitious people?
Have an ambitious plan!
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4. Bring them onboard
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Details matter
be nice, don’t be an @$$*
* people don’t like working for one
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Interviews
are crucial
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Where they usually start for us
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Interviews take time
Will they spend 5-6 hours meeting with you?
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Understand their psychology
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Ask them to move Mt. Fuji!
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Inculcate a sense of specialness & respect
Involve them in the social context
Invite them to meet the team events
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Be persistent
James
“Dev Machine”
Tam
When the right
startup person
shows up
* Said “no” three times!
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aren’t startups risky?
dispelling the myth
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…laying off 5,000 employees.
…files for Bankruptcy protection.
…lays off 12,000.
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There is
NO
job
security
anymore
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What about the risk of a job that…
you’re not passionate about?
doesn’t let you be creative?
doesn’t let you have an impact?
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the real risk of a startup…
Not trying.
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Recruiting doesn’t stop
when they sign
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Send a gift
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Don’t even
think about it
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5. How to keep them…
a few thoughts
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A work environment
that’s challenging
that lets people learn
with room to get ahead
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Being a good manager
is
being a good person
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Be transparent
Communicate objectives
Share the business data
Explain strategies
Be available
Be the servant leader
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Help them learn
Host lunch & learns with interesting people
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Be flexible
Allow flow between jobs
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Engage them using…
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Have fun once
in a while!
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Touchbase bi-weekly
Very important to young people
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Get rid of what’s
holding you back
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What did we cover
1. Recruiting, a matter of life-or-death
2. Always be recruiting
3. The Ideal Start up person
4. Bring them onboard
5. How to keep them
70

Always be recruiting
Punchline
Discovering great people is everyone’s job
Take the time. Get it right
Get it right, from the beginning
A-teams attract A-players
71

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Pictures bought from
istockphoto.com
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