Founders wear many hats. One role I consistently see less well understood is that they’re the “Chief Judge of Talent.” It requires them to have a strong nose for triple-A talent. Not B+, not A-, but A++. Not delegated out to others too early. Not confused by pedigree. Not underweighting experience. You've heard the axiom that B players hire C players. To not accidentally hire B players, it requires exposure to greatness. Great founders constantly seek understanding what great looks like, and figure out how they can get it. They treat hiring dream candidates like a game, and always have an answer to the question what Dream Candidate would they love to recruit. If founders haven't been exposed to greatness, they need to seek it out. The best seek understanding what great looks like in functions and domains, and then figure out how they can get it. Normally founders with high exposure to greatness have crazy impressive networks. You find yourself asking "how'd they get that person to advise their startup?? Another element of being the Chief Judge of Talent is that you must hold the bar incredibly high. Sometimes the bar will feel too high. Your team will complain. In the early years, only give out hiring responsibility to others who you think have developed really strong noses for AAA talent. Founders must be resource magnets to attract talent, capital and customers. Especially talent. Great founders are Chief Judges of Talent.
Ben Lazaroff
3w
"not confused by pedigree" - better ™️ that
Andy Dunn
3w
Agreed.
Very well said.
Dr Mark Rahn
2w
Liverpool football club is probably the 5th or 6th richest club in English football, but are consistently 2nd most successful in recent years (behind Manchester City who are the richest) They can’t afford to hire A++, so consistently settle for A, or B++, or sometimes even C-! What they have is a world class coach who can turn C into A and consistently achieves that. Because C’s who fit into a motivated and organised team consistently achieve like A’s. Also think about wellbeing. If you’re team culture is overtly aspririg to be A++ on an individual level, what’s going to happen if you have a few issues in life. You’re going to be shit scared, that’s what. What am I saying? Of course you need to know what good looks like, through A++ people, advisors or subcontractors, but a positive and supportive team culture beats a culture of individual excellence every day.
Mercedes Bent you are a rare phenomenon to say the absolute truth. My experience even with startups have been below par. The recruiters to hiring managers want cookie cutter answers. No one wants to know the person, the mindset, the grit, the pain/experience of building things ground up. A resume is at best a lagging indicator of what one can do. Kudos to you for saying that.
Kate Milad
3w
Um, I don’t know you but I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted to actively physically celebrate a LinkedIn post more than this one. You get IT!!!! Awesome stuff. This is what’s exciting about recruiting. A++ is where the magic happens.
Love this reminder about the importance of setting the hiring bar high from the start.
I agree I think it's important to not only seek out greatness but also to be able to recognize it when you see it
Partner @ NEA | Empowering Founders & Teams | Series A/B Investor in Transformative Tech
3wSome of the best founders I've worked with and worked for are deeply involved in recruiting for nearly every role even after the company has reached significant scale.