How does a startup choose early employees?

There are also some people who will take the risk to join these new companies before their business develops and become the first employees of the entrepreneur. Early employees at a startup may not bear the same direct financial risk as the founders of the company. But they undoubtedly also held strong beliefs and fully trusted a new company that was immature and could collapse at any time. These employees play a vital role in startups and small businesses around the world. A new company’s first hires require more than just meeting the qualifications written in the “job description.” Because there is a huge difference between a start-up company and a mature company that already has a business foundation. Cultural fit Professional skills are important, but if the team is small, cultural fit is even more critical. In a small team, everyone has nowhere to hide, and everyone is facing all kinds of strong pressures that a start-up company will face. Good morale is indispensable. These initial employees will form the cornerstone of the company culture. Blake Hull, the founder of TroopSwap, a start-up company in Washington, DC, recounted his experience: “I think that for an entrepreneurial team, there are five core qualities that are very critical: passion for completing tasks, work ethics , taking risks, being dedicated to customers, and being comfortable with failure. “A new company will face ups and downs at any time, so employees need to be prepared to ride the roller coaster. Sometimes, the candidate who scores best on the written test may not be the best fit for the new company. The Passion of Entrepreneurship Most startups can’t offer their employees competitive pay or benefits, so they have to offer something else—a vision and story that’s compelling enough for employees to commit to it. A company's early employees must believe in the company's future and pursue it passionately to turn it into a reality. "Early employees must take the company's core vision as their own belief, even sometimes challenging the founder's authority for it," said Kristen Galliani, founder of meshin.com. New employees are like potential customers. If the company cannot clearly communicate its vision and values ??to them, it will be difficult to convince them to join the company and embark on a new adventure. In addition to passion and belief in a certain vision or idea, companies also need employees to be able to withstand "entrepreneurial life." "There are many smart and hard-working people in the world. But the people you are looking for need to be able to overcome the unknown dangers and work with you through the ups and downs of your entrepreneurial journey," said Maria Said, CEO and co-founder of Yapp Mann said. “Before I hire someone, I spell out all the risks, even worse than they could possibly imagine in a startup. Then I pay close attention to their facial expressions.” But passion is equally critical. “If you don’t have a heartfelt passion for your goals, it will be difficult to get through the long nights in the early stages of starting a business.” Judgment and adaptability In addition to cultural adaptation and passion, growing startups need employees with execution capabilities. Rachel Scola, founding editor of Mediaite and founder of TheLi.st, believes that the ideal entrepreneurial employee needs to have good judgment and adaptability. "You may be required to perform tasks in a variety of areas, and there is no clear job description that summarizes the tasks you will face. It is up to you to figure out when, where and how to deal with these things. Sometimes a sense of humor can also be used Help. ” Be Transparent Once employees join the company, entrepreneurs need to keep these newcomers motivated, productive, and happy. Often, early-stage employees join a startup because they want to be a part of the entrepreneurial project and see a business build from scratch. "I was Mediaite's first employee," Scola said. "I like the feeling of sketching on a white paper. Pointing to something and telling others: "I created it", this feeling is very fulfilling." Even if the initial employees are full of passion, entrepreneurs still need to take good care of them. Keep the fire of employees’ enthusiasm from being extinguished by setbacks. This is often the biggest challenge entrepreneurs face. How can you do this? Maria Seidman explains her philosophy: “Treat every early employee like a CEO. Be transparent with the entire team and share with them the ups and downs of the company. In this way, everyone in the company can know the specific situation of the company. If you are faced with many things that you cannot fully control when starting a business, you can create a transparent and open corporate culture and let the company team feel free to act spontaneously. run.

The bottom line is that many talented people are looking for a more meaningful work experience, which is why some people choose to join a startup rather than a larger, more established company. Many early-stage employees at startups are willing to give up stability and money for more meaningful goals. “Life is too short to waste,” said Justin Thorpe, who worked on early stage startups AddThis and HelloWallet. "I choose a job that allows me to shine." Frank Gruber and Jane Consalva are the co-founders of TechCocktail. (Translator: Zhou Xiang)