huddle.net - hiring a team of peers
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Slides for TechCrunch Geek'n'Rolla event in LondonTRANSCRIPT
© 2009 Ninian Solutions Ltd
Building a Team of Peers
Andy McLoughlin
I am co-founder and
product director at Huddle
Huddle combines unified
collaboration with social
networking
Huddle was launched in
April 2007
Based in London, sales
office in Chicago
Doubling in size (users /
revenue) every 4 months
A little bit about us...
Was it really all
plain sailing?
December 07: 5 staff
December 08: 30 staff
Dear God, no! Picture of stormy sea
Hell no!
The early days Use nice graphics from the website (or ask
Keh)
Building a great team is really, really hard
workYou rarely get the chance to pick a team from scratch so make it
count
Things we've learnt Your initial team may not make the grade Don’t be afraid to say no Meeting the perfect candidate is like falling
in love Working in a start-up isn’t for everyone Don’t hire people if you wouldn’t want to
spend all day, every day with them Bet on smart, entrepreneurial people And…
Build “a team
of peers”
“A team of peers” Coined by Bob, our first post-VC hire Everyone hires everyone else Foster the sense of family and buy-in We run a three stage process
Telephone screen (20 minutes) Paired technical test (1 hour) General interview (30 minutes) Huddle’s patented “4 point scale”
Unless everyone is agreed, it’s a no-go
“Bet on openness, build trust” Huddle’s product and company mantra Keep the team in one building Publish company targets and roadmap Weekly company stand-up with open floor Get engineers and product on sales calls Get sales and marketing people testing Company-wide product planning sessions 10% hack time to build cool stuff
Finding talent
Direct applicants FTW! We’ve used friends’
recommendations, blogging, speaking, twitter and
networking events to successfully recruit great staff.
LinkedIn, TechCrunch jobs, Monster and other job boards
Dealing with recruiters
Dealing with
recruitment agents
Recruiters: a cheat-sheet Generally, they’re bastards and full of shit Luckily, it is a hirer’s market Create a PSL of maximum five agencies Set a fixed rate (max 15%) Be explicit with your needs and demand
their three best CVs
Interns – something for nothing?Interns: something
for nothing?
Interns: a cheat sheet You can offer unpaid internships but conditions apply Avoid unpaid interns falling within the definition of
'worker" under the minimum wage legislation The intern should be learning skills / gaining experience The intern cannot be subject to any work obligations No regular payments smaller than minimum wage should
be promised or made (travel / food expenses are fine) Set a finite timeline then graduate to minimum wage For tech interns and design interns this can be flexible They’re part of your team so quality standards hold true Have a look at enternships.com
Losing a friendBreaking up is hard to do
“I’m giving you my notice” The first time it happens is heartbreaking But it’s inevitable If you love them, let them go! Look for early signs of unhappiness Paying below market rate is a false economy If you’ve instigated the break-up (sacking /
redundancy / probation) then ensure you follow proper procedure
Send your CEO / COO / office manager on an HR course
“A place I'd want to work”
Creating “a place
I'd want to work”
Creating that place Great people + nice surroundings = WIN Make everyone a shareholder Invest in a good coffee machine Table football league / Wii / beanbag area
encourage creative thinking and bonding Eat together regularly Regular outings with partners invited Continually ask yourself if this truly is a
place you’d want to work