Article Contributed by Lori Wagoner
There are all kinds of cults in this world and most have a purpose. It doesn’t matter if the rest of the world agrees, disagrees, joins, or disowns cults. That, by itself, forms the cult in the first place. Cults are defined by their monomaniacal obsession to a cause (no matter how ridiculous some causes can be).
While startup communities aren’t exactly cults – in the sense that everyone within the community isn’t chanting the same mantra, taking the same path, or doing things blinded by the communal energy – it’s hard to escape from the “cult like” feeling you get. Most startups, of course, work a lot like cults according to Peter Thiel.
The startup cult sways and swoons over a few things – such as validating ideas, raising funds, pivoting at critical moments, scaling, growing, exiting, and pretty much everything else. Each of these points is debatable. A few startups repeatedly go against the grain.
Among the many hard nuggets of advice that the startup communities preach is this: never go alone at a startup. Work with a team.
Of course, not everyone works for startups. Even if some people did, they are not the best hires. Plus, startups have issues with cash flow, profits, and branding. Yet, you need the best talent you can find. You’ll need people more committed to the startup compared to doing things for their own sake.
Here are the kinds of people you must actually seek – and beg, if needed – to pull them in to work for you:
The Visionary
Maybe it’s you, or maybe you aren’t. The owner/founder’s skills should perfectly complement the skills of the team. Since we are working rats anyway, it’s easy to get lost in operations, get caught up with everyday “to do” lists and fighting fires.
But startups need boost powers, plus a long-term trajectory. Only visionaries can get you this. You’ll find them dreaming, contesting normalcy, and questioning everything. You’ll need their “looking into their crystal ball” ability. Your startup can benefit from their sheer confidence, tenacity, and leadership skills.
The Missionary
It’s a startup you are running, so whom are you kidding? The world’s best talent won’t beat the line to your door. They aren’t interested. They have plenty of options. So, stop selling that recruitment story. No one’s listening. Anything you promise about the future, is well into the future.
I can’t see. I won’t know. I won’t believe.
You could, however, communicate your compelling mission. Guess who’d be attracted to your job ad then?
The missionary – you know, the guy or gal who goes at it either because they get a kick out of it or because they totally agree with the idea of whatever it is you’re building.
The Enthusiastic Advocate
You don’t want drones working the aisles at your startup. You want passionate committed, hardworking, and dedicated people.
Even more importantly, you want people who don’t mind wearing your company branded tees all day long and also sport funny hats (with your logos on those hats).
You want to hire them for the raw energy, undying hope that wells up within them, the love they exhibit for the mini-community that your startup is, and the pride they carry while they sit out the battle.
Because the nerds can code and the creative can dream, you need enthusiasts who can turn code into apps and dreams into reality.
As a startup, you’d do well with energy, hope, love, and more.
The Sales Guy
Contrary to what you might think is right or wrong, necessary or unnecessary, you need people with raw passion and the execution prowess that today’s marketing demands. You need the sales guys. Without them, you aren’t getting customers.
Getting customers is probably the only thing you should focus on for your startup. Dan Norris, in his 7 Day Startup, writes about how startups do everything possible like hunting for VCs, hiring, attending events to do networking, validating, testing, etc. They do everything they can. Only, they don’t do marketing and sales.
That’s why you need those guys.
The Veteran
Somewhere along the line, you’ll need someone who’s been there and done that. You’ll need someone to give attention to detail. To keep the train on the right track. A lot of things have to work together to keep your startup in one piece and experience goes a long way to help make that happen.
Call these people “veterans,” “serial entrepreneurs,” or whatever, but you’d have to literally put everything on the line to get them to work for you.
It takes the “immersion” of a veteran – understanding marketing, PR, competition, and the industry as a whole, for long periods of time – for the startup to keep running, according to Bernd Schoner, author of The Tech Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide.
There are endless things you simply cannot pull off without experience.
The Execution Specialist
Trouble with running a startup today is that there are too many things vying for attention. While running on all cylinders, with the frenetic pace that a startup usually thrives in, you’d need someone who has the head to the ground and doesn’t get involved in all the talking, the dreaming, and the “I’ll fly, I’ll soar, and I’ll dominate” mentality on the office floors.
You’d need someone built for one thing only: execution. Getting things done. Shifting in-trays to out-trays faster than anyone else can.
Over to You
How do you hire for your startup? What are your shortlisting criteria? What the kinds of people are you desperately seeking? Tell us about your hiring journey!
About the Author
Lori Wagoner is an independent content strategist who gives online marketing advice to small businesses. Lori has blogged at Tweak Your Biz, The Social Media Hat and many other business and tech blogs. You can reach her @LoriDWagoner on Twitter.