Hiring in a startup

"The people who build great things in the world are not balanced. They're obsessive-compulsive maniacs."

I've been watching this business with Jason Calacanis talking about startup life and responding to the uproar about his tips for how to save money running a startup. You should read these tips. They're fantastic and damn true. But I know you're lazy, so here's the important one:

11. Fire people who are not workaholics. Come on folks, this is startup life, it's not a game. don't work at a startup if you're not into it--go work at the post office or starbucks if you're not into it you want balance in your life. For realz.

Apparently a lot of people got their panties in a knot about this one and it really just proves the point. If this offends you, you don't get it. You don't belong in a startup. As a startup company, even a funded one, there are limited resources. You have to get more bang for your buck so nothing is acceptable short of hiring complete rockstars.

So my one criticism of Jason's list would be that you shouldn't HIRE people who aren't workaholics. Hire slow and fire quick. Make damn sure that someone's a good fit and if it doesn't end up working out, get rid of them as fast as possible.

In the interview video, Jason sums up a lot of what I've learned about building a team in a startup. Young, smart, ambitious people will rise to the occasion if you put them in a place where they have to step up. There are a ton of smart kids out there that love to do what they do, will work hard doing it and want to shave 5 years off their career path.

These are the people you hire.



Check out the video: