What qualities matter most when hiring for a startup?

Cyriac Roeding

Co-founder, CEO · Earli

Individual brilliance

Cyriac Roeding says the first quality is individual brilliance—10x outliers who are amazing at what they do—because such brilliance is very rare.

The answer starts at 37:01.

Ben Lamm

Founder and CEO · Colossal Biosciences

Passion and conviction

Ben Lamm says he hires for passion and conviction, since passion can't be taught but skill can, so resumes and past work matter less.

Saahil Goel

MD & CEO · Shiprocket

Purpose‑driven, right‑fit people

Saahil Goel says the more important quality is right people, and he thinks purpose-driven people are needed especially when building a startup, because the definition of right differs by company.

The answer starts at 49:29.

Neka Pasquale LAc MS

Founder & Chief Product Officer · Urban Remedy

Alignment with mission

Neka Pasquale LAc MS says she prioritizes alignment with the company's mission and vision, noting that Urban Remedy has many people who believe in and are aligned with what they're doing and why.

Cheryl Tanberg-Grimaldi

Founder/President · Anton Everest

Trust and discretion

Cheryl Tanberg-Grimaldi says she prioritizes trust and discretion because they are essential traits, especially in the family office side, and they might also be learned behaviors depending on the environment.

Alex Konrad

Founder and Editor · Upstarts Media

Swiss‑army‑knife versatility

Alex Konrad says that for an early-stage startup you want a “Swiss Army knife” person who will do what needs to be done and show initiative, with specialists coming in later.

Melisa Tokmak

Founder · Netic

Agency

Melisa Tokmak says she looks for people with the agency to start things, alongside caring deeply about what they build, customer obsession, urgency to solve problems, and rigor and patience.

Ownership of whole problems

Travis Kalanick says to hire people who can own an entire problem, not those who run a process, because the talent game is the game.

Blake Scholl

Founder/CEO · Boom Supersonic

Extraordinary side projects

Blake Scholl says he looks for extraordinary side projects, saying Boom will hire early-career people with no work experience as long as they have done something that shows they have been extraordinary.