8 lessons from my first startup gig

Avery Francis
Aug 25, 2017 · 7 min read

Anyone who’s worked for a startup will usually say it’s unlike any career experience they have ever had. It’s a wild ride and if you are like me (filled with piss and vinegar) a startup is a great place to be. Startups are filled with people who are passionate and pouring their heart into a common goal. It’s a great thing to be a part of! If you are an HR or Talent professional and you have your eye on potentially joining a startup here are 8 things I learned from my first startup gig.

  1. Always hire for culture add vs. culture fit

When you are scaling fast and hiring often it’s easy to rest on the notion of “Culture fit”. Of course, relying on referrals is a great thing to do when you are hiring, but this could potentially lead to a homogeneous network of people. Thinking outside the confines of culture fit — people who may think, act, look, or be like us — and thinking about culture add — the folks on the fringe who can bring a different experience, perspective, mindset, or story — helps to build a diverse team while attracting amazing people to join your company. The result? A more holistic culture, more diverse teams and fewer cliques.

2. People want to work with great people

At Rangle I conducted hundreds of phone interviews and coffee conversations. At the beginning of every conversation, I would ask them one question: “If you could create your ideal role, what would it look like?”. Of course, this question provoked many different responses: People would mention autonomy, flexibility, balance, professional growth and development, being apart of a great culture and of course an interest in working in a challenging environment. In my hundreds of conversations, the one thing everyone would always mention was great people. It’s true that working with kind, smart people not only makes work more enjoyable — it helps to retain and attract top employees as well.

3. There is no such thing as the talent bench

I learned this the hard way. When you’re recruiting top technical folks and you find someone great, chances are they won’t be available for long. Why? It’s a candidate driven market and long gone are the days where there are too many experienced technical talent and not enough jobs. Proactive recruitment efforts can help to attract awesome talent, but you have to be mindful as to how you handle those conversations. My solution? A strong employment brand, a focus on a killer candidate experience and headhunting passive candidates is your best shot. But, chances are if that amazing developer is still available a few months from now, they may not be that great.

4. The burnout is real

When I was hired on by my former boss, Rup Jolly, he was fired up about the projected hiring for the year to come. I remember him saying to me “We have doubled in size year over year and this year will be no exception”. Rup’s excitement had me buzzing. On day one, I hit the ground running. For over a year my passion for Rangle and excitement about our growth had me working 14 hour days. No one was pushing me to do this but I loved my work and couldn’t stop. I’ll never forget when I conducted a salary negotiation at 3 AM to accommodate someone on holiday (yes, we hired that person). I was too jazzed about Rangle to slow down. I learnt about a year in that burnout is real, and it will catch up to you. Make a schedule and honour it. It’s the best way to avoid working non-stop and ultimately burning out.

5. Don’t pick an agency, pick a recruiter

When you are in high growth mode and you need to scale fast it’s best to have every tool in your recruitment toolbox available to you. Partnering with agencies can be a lifesaver for a lot of reasons. Specifically, when you can leverage them to conduct specific searches to potentially help support your team where you aren’t having much luck. There are a lot of recruitment agencies out there. Avoid picking one based on fees, branding, or how persuasive their salesperson may be. When you get a call from an agency, ask to speak with the recruiter who will be working on your roles. When you meet with that recruiter really think if this is someone you would want representing your company. The risk? Partnering with the wrong agency could possibly cause negative candidate experiences and dilute your employer brand. Pick a stellar recruiter with a passion, integrity, and strong follow through and you will be solid!

6. You really never should eat alone

In the first few months of my joining Rangle, I made a point to grab a bite or a cup of tea with people, often. Through the time I spent out of the office there was a lot of great side projects and internal initiatives that were born over a meal at Fresh or a hot beverage at Aroma. I reached out to Emily Robinson on my first day and I asked her to be my first friend at Rangle. It was through that initial conversation that we built a friendship over a shared interest in diversity & inclusion and began a strong partnership on bringing more diversity and inclusion initiatives to Rangle. Thankfully to that time out of the office with Emily, Bridge, Toronto’s first free Code School for women, came to life.

7. Your network is powerful

When I started at Rangle I couldn’t believe how powerful my network had become. Within a few days of my starting, I had several applications come through our job postings from people I had worked with in the past. In the first 6 months of my working at Rangle, I hired 10 people to work at Rangle through my personal network. The lesson here? If you are hiring an internal recruiter to join your team, hire one with a strong network. How can you tell if a recruiter has a strong network? A recruiter who is active on the meetup scene has a strong ability to build relationships, and is interested in building long-lasting connections — that’s the type of mindset that tells me a recruiter will excel. What’s a sure tell sign? A recruiter who has quality recommendations on LinkedIn. There doesn’t have to be a lot, but if there are recommendations mentioning a good experience and the quality of the recruiter's character — they usually stand out to me.

8. Attrition isn’t always a bad thing

Rangle was by far the smartest group of people I ever have had the opportunity to work with. It’s a competitive hiring landscape and Rangle talent are at the front lines of daily messages from recruiters. Although it wasn’t often, losing smart people sucks. However, something I learned at Rangle is that there is a lot to be said about where people go after their time with us. The speed at which people grow at in a startup is quicker than any environment I’ve ever worked in. The stories of growth that people experience at a startup and beyond are impressive. I think it’s healthy to assume that all people will move on eventually and take on new opportunities. It was inspiring to see people move on to life-changing opportunities and undeniably great companies. My recommendation? Celebrate the people who leave and wish them well.

On that point, a personal announcement:

I have made the decision to continue learning in the startup space and will be moving on from my role at Rangle. Although I am sad to be leaving this amazing team, I am thrilled to announce that I will be joining League as their Head of Talent. I will be bringing League’s diversity initiatives forward, something that is a career-long passion of mine. As well as working with the HR team on strategies for attracting and engaging the best and the brightest as League scales over the years to come. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn and grow as a talent leader.

I hope the lessons I’ve shared here will help you in your journey and potentially inspire you to join a startup as well.

Stay tuned for more updates! Please feel free to share your first startup gig lessons below — I would love to hear from you!

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Avery Francis

Written by

I work with leading startups to navigate the world of talent + hiring. I write about all things work, talent, recruitment and diversity + inclusion.

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