People Multiple

The Hiring Mistakes That Ruin Company Growth | Amy Zimmerman

Amy Zimmerman believes most companies get people strategy backward. They treat culture like a support function, hiring like a gut decision, and retention like a compensation problem — when in reality, the strongest businesses understand that people decisions shape enterprise outcomes long before the numbers reflect it. In this episode of People Multiple, Amy shares the principles that helped her build high-performing cultures across multiple startup exits, including her decade scaling Kabbage from an early-stage startup to a unicorn acquisition by American Express. She breaks down why culture is strategy, how great hiring systems outperform instinct, what investors still misunderstand about the people function, and why companies that treat people well build stronger businesses. Learn More About Amy: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amymz/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amymz/]  * Website: PeopleCo.io  Mentioned in this Episode:  * Relay Payments: https://www.relaypayments.com/ [https://www.relaypayments.com/]  * Kabbage: linkedin.com/company/kabbage-american-express?trk=ppro_cprof&originalSubdomain=ar [http://linkedin.com/company/kabbage-american-express?trk=ppro_cprof&originalSubdomain=ar]  The discussion also tackles questions… * How do people decisions impact company valuation and exit outcomes? * Why do strong cultures outperform compensation when it comes to retention? * What hiring mistakes cost companies the most as they scale? * How should founders evaluate culture fit vs. values fit? * Why do investors overlook the people function during diligence? * What makes a people strategy actually drive business performance? * How do you build a high-retention culture in a fast-growth company? * What leadership behaviors create psychological safety and accountability? * How should companies define success criteria for hiring and promotion? * What does great founder involvement in hiring actually look like? Themes: * Culture as Strategy * Hiring as a Business Lever * Leadership and Founder Discipline * Retention Beyond Compensation * Scaling Culture Through Hypergrowth * People Strategy and Enterprise Value * Investor Blind Spots in Talent Evaluation * High-Performance Team Design * Transparency and Psychological Safety * Building Exit-Ready Organizations Production Produced by: The AGN Group Host: Gia Ganesh  Producer: Katie Hart Social Media Channels: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-multiple/about/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-multiple/about/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/ [https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/]  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple [https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple]  Websites: https://peoplemultiple.com/ [https://peoplemultiple.com/]

People Multiple – Trailer

People decisions shape enterprise value long before the numbers ever reflect it. On People Multiple host Gia Ganesh sits down with CHROs, operators, investors, and executives inside VC- and PE-backed companies to explore one core question: How do people decisions shape the enterprise multiple? In an AI-first economy where competitive advantages disappear faster than ever, leadership, culture, talent strategy, and execution are becoming the true differentiators behind durable company performance. This isn’t another “future of work” podcast filled with theory and recycled frameworks. People Multiple focuses on the real decisions that influence growth, risk, execution, retention, leadership performance, and ultimately company valuation. The conversations connect talent strategy directly to outcomes like IRR, MOIC, exits, and enterprise value creation.  Each episode unpacks: • Leadership decisions that accelerated or stalled growth • Early people signals companies ignored until it was too late • Culture dynamics that quietly shaped enterprise outcomes • Investor and operator perspectives on leadership risk • What separates scalable organizations from fragile ones • How AI is changing the stakes for leadership and talent strategy If you're a founder, operator, investor, or people leader trying to understand the hidden drivers behind company performance, this show is built for you. Subscribe now and follow along as we explore the people decisions that shape the outcomes everyone else tries to explain after the fact.