Mentorship Programs

On Hiring: A Guide for Startup CTOs

This article provides CTOs of startups with strategies to create a transparent recruitment process that leads to trust-based technical teams. It covers topics such as crafting a concise and engaging job ad, collaborating with recruiters, and keeping job listings up-to-date. Additionally, it outlines two different approaches to recruiting for a startup, and suggests a hybrid model of recruiting that combines the benefits of working with a recruiter and being hands-on in the hiring process. It also emphasizes the importance of being transparent about salary expectations and involving the team in the recruitment process. Finally, it suggests regular communication with potential candidates and providing constructive feedback if they are not selected for a role. These strategies will help CTOs connect with diverse, talented candidates and build a cohesive team ready to drive their startup’s success.

The Importance of Gathering Honest Feedback

A co-founder of Box had difficulty with a back-end engineering manager and eventually decided to let him go. However, the day after, a bunch of back-end engineers were going to quit due to the co-founder's actions. To understand why, the co-founder sat down with each of the engineers and heard from lots of different people who said that they didn't like the job that he was doing. He realized that he had failed to be cognizant of the power dynamic between himself and the new engineers and hired a coach to get feedback on his performance. He worked hard to make improvements in his areas of weakness and started proactively asking for feedback. He learned that his title and status in the company can inhibit people from providing him with feedback and that he must be proactive in reaching out for it.

Embracing People From Non-Traditional Backgrounds

Product management requires a variety of skills and there is no pre-defined career path. Companies should embrace diversity and hire people from non-traditional backgrounds to bring unique value to their business. Job descriptions should be tailored to the skills needed and should be bias-free. Onboarding should include resources to familiarize with the domain, a senior PM to learn from, and a plan for career development. Diversity can bring fresh ideas and insights to product management.

Understanding What Drives People Can Help You Seduce Senior Engineers to Join Your Company

Companies need to be aware that senior engineers are more likely to choose purpose and passion over a high salary. To attract them, companies should look for experienced professionals at career fairs and networking events, have honest conversations outside the office, and tailor benefits to their specific needs. Two main motives that drive senior engineers are personal growth and mentoring possibilities, so companies should offer trainings and the chance to mentor junior colleagues.

The Rewards of a Speedy Development By a Small Team

In a situation where there was no headcount to launch a pilot project in partnership with another company in 4 months, the lead engineer was able to be resourceful and assemble a team of three people to design and build the product. The product was launched and led to the acquisition of the company they were partnering with. The engineer was then responsible for growing the team from three to over 50 people in one year, proving that it is possible to build innovative products in a large company if you are resourceful and have a can-do attitude.

How I failed at my startup

Eguruvu was a company founded with the goal of helping students better prepare for college preparatory tests. The founders ran into several missteps in execution due to personal bias and lack of market research. They attempted to sell the product to private boards & institutions and government agencies, but ran into operational challenges and lack of commitment to adopt the new system from administrative staff. The lack of experience in selling and go-to-market cost them the company. The two main takeaways from this experience were to never do it alone and to roll out and develop products incrementally.