Nathaniel Koloc

7 Keys to Hiring Your Start-up’s First Employee

Hiring ReWork’s first employee, Shane Rasnak, was one of the best experiences we went through in our first year. We were lucky to find him, and confirmed a few of our assumptions in the process. We also realized some things that we hadn’t anticipated, which we know we’ll do differently in the future.

Based on our experience, these are the pieces of advice that we’d give:

• Hire someone as soon as you can afford it.
• Hire for potential, not just track record.
• Have applicants demonstrate aptitude before you hire them.
• Have everyone on your team interview them, at least once.
• Invite your new hire to truly be part of your team.
• Have a coherent on-boarding process designed ahead of time.
• Have all your legal ducks in a row (contracts, payroll, etc.) beforehand.

What StartingBloc Gets Right, Every Time

Earlier this week the StartingBloc LA’12 Institute wrapped up in Santa Monica, five days of sunshine and smiles, speakers and workshops, and sushi-fueled social hours. As with the two other StartingBloc Institutes I’ve been to, it was awesome. And I’ve been thinking about why that is.

For those that don’t know, these Institutes bring about 100 young professionals together to discuss social innovation, meaningful work, career planning, and other relevant topics. There are speakers (all of which are good, but only a handful of which are great), a case study competition, and plenty of socializing.

These are all things that take place at many (most?) conferences. So why, in this case, do they lead to a gut-wrenching aftermath feeling (referred to as the “StartingBloc hangover”)? Why are people that met each other for five days staying in touch for years, flying themselves across the country to volunteer at other Institutes, and starting companies together?

I think it’s because of authenticity. Of all the communities I’ve been a part of over the years, StartingBloc is the best at one thing: making people feel like it’s really okay to just be themselves. No pretenses, no pressure, no facade. Open, vulnerable, and thus deeply fun. And therein lies the power of this network - these people really know each other.

The StartingBloc team is able to cultivate this same feeling, again and again and again, because of how intentional they are. For those who are convening communities, professional or otherwise, here are three take-aways that you can use to create that unparalleled depth of experience for your attendees/participants:

1. Invite vulnerability, directly. We’ve always got so many walls up that it’s really effective when someone asks us to take them down.

2. Be ultra-honest with your attendees, always. Let them know what’s going on, why, what problems there are, and any challenges you’re facing.

3. Throw dance parties. One of the hardest things about adult life in our society is having to separate work-self from self-self, and one of the best ways to pull out the self-self is via good music and hip-shakin’ - so set the stage and let people have some fun.

Photo courtesy of Kwirious Photography.

The Signal

I’ve spent the last month and a half focusing on how people make tough decisions. I’ve listened more carefully as people talk about how they feel as they deliberate over a difficult choice. I noticed that in most cases if someone is asking my advice on something, I can tell that they already know - on some level - what they should do.

Then I started paying more attention to how I felt, physically, when making decisions - big and small. I realized that in every case, even if my mind seemed undecided, my gut would be giving me the answer I was looking for.

Our mind can process things so much faster and more intricately than our conscious attention can follow. I suspect that the feeling that we refer to as our “gut” is really just the physical result of a million pieces of information being processed and analyzed in our subconscious, leading to an instinctual “answer” to a given predicament. Research confirms that suspicion. Simon Sinek has a whole chapter of his book Start with Why dedicated to this subconscious decision-making entity: the limbic brain.

I think our gut is a reliable signal of what our brain is deciding after complex analysis that happens beneath the surface of our awareness. There are three basic types of signal that I can feel if I take a deep breath, calm my mind, and check my gut:

Yes/Good/Do-it!
It’s a positive, warm, excited feeling. It feels like anticipation or confidence.

No/Bad/Don’t-do-it!
It’s an anxious, knotty, negative feeling. It feels like danger or cloudiness. 

Not enough information
At first I was mistaking it for a “no,” but it’s not the same. It’s the kinesthetic version of a question mark, and it turns into one of the other two when more information is discovered.

The implications are quite significant, especially if you’re someone who over-analyzes or spends a lot of time thinking through your decisions (or being indecisive). You may be trying to consciously do what your brain is better off doing subconsciously, and overcomplicating things in the process. 

Give it a try… Start to notice the underlying gut feelings that guide your decision-making - really feel them in your body. Allow yourself to become aware of them faster, and think less. For a week, try to make decisions based only on your gut feelings - avoid over-thinking, worrying, and conscious deliberation.

Just trust the signal and see how you feel.