Congrats, money is in the bank: now focus on key hirings to meet your next milestones!

Here we are, the money is in the bank now and you need to execute your plan and start working on your next objectives (validate your model, secure the first key customers, scale your KPIs or just meet any operational milestones).

To do so, the first key hirings in your company are likely to be the most important ones or to put it differently, a bad hire could make you miss your next important objective deadline.

🌟 Talent sourcing

If only it could be as easy as “The Voice” tv show! First of all, you have to define the exact profile you are looking for (hard & soft skills). Then you need to combine several strategies to put the odds in your favor:

• Dig into Linkedin (obviously) and other more recent platforms (eg Qapa, Hired, etc). Good profiles evolving in scale-ups for more than 3 years may be looking for new challenges
• Ask your network to repost your announcement
• Communicate your needs to your investors (BA, VC funds…)

For tech profiles, external online and offline search firms (eg Stackoverflow, Urbanlinkers, etc) as well as CTO meetups can be an effective tool and, if you do not have a tech background, get some extra help at least in this phase.

👉 5 Tips

The interview process is quite an adventure, on both sides. It takes time, energy and needs to be well prepared. On your side, these interactions will attest to the seriousness of your company and your project. Take some time to think about the case study you wish to propose in order to assess as accurately as possible whether the profile in front of you will be “the one”.

Now, let’s try to transform the famous ‘hire slow fire fast’ mantra into 5 good tips to keep in mind when you are hiring:

1. Right fit: your company is like a human body and any key hiring must fit with your existing team and share your company culture (there is always one!); take the time of letting your candidate meet with your team and of collecting a complete feedback
2. Best salary in the company in a very dynamic job market: key hirings might get better salaries than founders: do not be afraid of paying a higher salary and pushing CEO and co-founders out of the top 3 ranking of best salaries in your company (without forgetting to mention your “WFH” policy and other new ways of working)
3. Pitch your stock: any key hiring will probably join your company because of the stock option upside rather than base salary. You must explain the potential value of the stock option package by providing the company potential equity value over a given time horizon, and how you get to such value (M&A multiples for example) from the numbers of your business plan
4. Independent reference checks: it is of paramount importance of getting an independent cross-reference on your key hiring. There must be in your networks (social, business, education) somebody that can provide you with a complete unbiased feedback on the person you are going to hire
5. Official reference checks: try always to talk to all the people in the reference list provided by your candidate and listen to the various feedbacks in detail; focus on weaknesses rather than strengths as we all tend to overlook weaknesses in favor of qualities when judging other people

🍻 Last but not least : the onboarding

Congratulations! You should have by now your new hires ready to join.

Even if you are a startup, there is no reason not to make the onboarding professional and smooth. Everything has to be ready (desk, PC, bluetooth headset) from day one to put him/her into the action. First impressions matter! And feeling socially accepted is a key factor in newcomer success: don’t forget to book a slot for a welcoming lunch/drink with the team!

🔴🟠🟡 Check this out : here are the 360 portfolio companies that are currently hiring!