Building Your Dream Team (The "Who")

In a startup, your people are your only real asset. If you have the right people, you can fix a bad product. If you have the wrong people, even the best product in the world will fail.

Lesson 1.1: Hire Slow and Fire Fast

One of the most important rules in business is: Hire slow and fire fast.

Hiring a new person is like a marriage. You shouldn't jump into it after one date. When you are "hiring slow," you are taking the time to make sure the person fits your culture and has the skills you need. If you rush, you might end up with someone who is talented but makes everyone else on the team miserable.

The second part of the rule is "fire fast." This sounds mean, but it is actually the kindest thing you can do for your company and the person. If someone isn't working out, you rarely regret letting them go. Instead, you usually find yourself thinking, "Why didn’t I do this sooner?" A person who isn't a good fit is holding back the team, and they are likely unhappy themselves. Letting them go allows them to find a place where they can succeed.

Lesson 1.2: A’s Hire A’s (The Quality Trap)

In the startup world, we talk about "A Players" and "B Players."

• A Players are the superstars. They are smart, driven, and they love working with other smart people.
• B Players are "okay." They do the work, but they often feel insecure.

The danger is that A's hire A's, but B's hire C's. Why? Because B Players are often afraid that if they hire someone better than them, they will look bad or lose their job. This leads to a "cycle of average" that can kill a startup. To stay at the top, you must always aim to hire people who are smarter than you. As the saying goes, "There is always room at the top," but you have to be brave enough to fill it with the best talent.

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