Knowing the Right Time to Hire as a Startup with Aamir Virani, Advisor, Explorer, and President of VSHAD Holdings

End of Season 1 of the Gradience!

It’s been a whole year of invaluable conversations with some of the brightest minds in the startup community. At The Gradience, a podcast by Build Talent, we’ve had the opportunity to speak with founders, talent partners, venture partners, visionaries and experts of all different backgrounds, and we’re incredibly grateful for their contributions. On behalf of Build Talent, thank you so much for listening, we really couldn’t have done it without your loyal viewership. Be sure to stick around for season 2, we’ve only just gotten started! Subscribe here: 👉 YouTube: https://bit.ly/3MCamCW [https://bit.ly/3MCamCW]  👉 Apple: https://apple.co/3JIqDDV [https://apple.co/3JIqDDV]  👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan [https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan] 👉 RSS: https://bit.ly/38yhi4n [https://bit.ly/38yhi4n] 👉 Email: podcast@buildtalent.io [podcast@buildtalent.io] About the Show “The Gradience” is a podcast by Build Talent & hosted by Nigel Robinson, wherein each episode, we’ll be speaking with a founder or expert as we discuss the art & science of hiring leaders, why it matters, and how you can keep up.  The Gradience is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so [https://www.fame.so/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=masters-of-community-with-david-spinks?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=confessions-of-a-b2b-marketer] Previous guests include: Riley Ennis of Freenome, Matt Birnbaum of Pear VC, Derek Lo of Medallion, Chandan Lodha of CoinTracker, Jennifer Smith of Scribe Check out our 3 most downloaded episodes: * Prioritizing Culture with Riley Ennis, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer of Freenome [https://thegradience.com/e/lnqr4w38-prioritizing-culture-riley-ennis-freenome] * Acquiring Your Dream Team with Evan Walden, Co-Founder & CEO of Getro [https://thegradience.com/e/x8v53m7n-ep-2-acquiring-your-dream-team-with-evan-walden-co-founder-ceo-of-getro] * The Role of Data Science in Early Stage Companies, with Kevin Novak, Managing Partner & Founder at Rackhouse Venture Capital [https://thegradience.com/e/286992wn-role-of-data-science-kevin-novak]

Team Building and Work Culture with Andrei Papancea, CEO and Chief Product Officer at NLX

Start-ups cannot function and grow on the enthusiasm and hard work of just one person, it takes a team of committed professionals to create a healthy corporate culture and drive expansion.  To keep your team's curiosity and competitive spirit alive, you need a work environment that fosters success and advancement. In this episode of The Gradience Podcast, Nigel is joined by Andrei Papancea. They cover: 👉 [ 00:11:05 ] When putting together your team, it’s important to ensure that they are people who want to do meaningful and intellectually engaging work and not people who just want a job 👉 [ 00:14:00 ] Your startup's culture will determine if people will stay with you or end up leaving 👉 [ 00:15:35 ] There are three reasons people leave companies or switch jobs: * They are not being paid well enough * Their job is not intellectually stimulating * They are not being respected 👉 [ 00:16:11 ] Complicating the onboarding process does not help anyone but makes things difficult 👉 [ 00:19:40 ] Maintaining your work culture after scaling starts with hiring someone who aligns with your company's values. 👉 [ 00:20:30 ] Don't hire people who are not culturally fit for your company, no matter how intelligent they might be or how many skills and references they may have. 👉 [ 00:21:50 ] Hire people with the potential and hunger for growth, even if they are still novices in the role you're hiring for, because they will spend time researching and ensure they do things right. 👉 [ 00:24:50 ] "We got to a stage where we needed more people with different skills. When it was just the four of us, myself, Vlad, Peter, and Doug, we made a Google sheet and listed out the various things we were working on, the responsibilities, and the things we should keep doing ourselves. 👉 [ 00:26:50 ] Do not overhire in advance; only hire when you are ready and have enough resources. 👉 [ 00:29:10 ] Be patient, stay true to your values, and trust your intuition. 👉 [ 00:31:41 ] "When people provide advice, you don't always have to take it. Filter through as much advice as possible and then make your own decision." If you’re interested in gaining insights into building a team that trusts you and is committed to your company's success from someone who's done just that,  tune in to this episode of The Gradience Podcast, a Podcast by Build Talent. Subscribe here: 👉 YouTube: https://bit.ly/3MCamCW [https://bit.ly/3MCamCW]  👉 Apple: https://apple.co/3JIqDDV [https://apple.co/3JIqDDV]  👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan [https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan] 👉 RSS: https://bit.ly/38yhi4n [https://bit.ly/38yhi4n] 👉 Email: podcast@buildtalent.io [podcast@buildtalent.io]  And connect with Andrei here: 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreipapancea [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreipapancea] https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielyoungchen    👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/ndrppnc?lang=en [https://twitter.com/ndrppnc?lang=en] About the Show “The Gradience” is a podcast by Build Talent & hosted by Nigel Robinson, wherein each episode, we’ll be speaking with a founder or expert as we discuss the art & science of hiring leaders, why it matters, and how you can keep up.  The Gradience is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so [https://www.fame.so/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=masters-of-community-with-david-spinks?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=confessions-of-a-b2b-marketer] Previous guests include: Riley Ennis of Freenome, Matt Birnbaum of Pear VC, Derek Lo of Medallion, Chandan Lodha of CoinTracker, Jennifer Smith of Scribe Check out our 3 most downloaded episodes: * Prioritizing Culture with Riley Ennis, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer of Freenome [https://thegradience.com/e/lnqr4w38-prioritizing-culture-riley-ennis-freenome] * Acquiring Your Dream Team with Evan Walden, Co-Founder & CEO of Getro [https://thegradience.com/e/x8v53m7n-ep-2-acquiring-your-dream-team-with-evan-walden-co-founder-ceo-of-getro] * The Role of Data Science in Early Stage Companies, with Kevin Novak, Managing Partner & Founder at Rackhouse Venture Capital [https://thegradience.com/e/286992wn-role-of-data-science-kevin-novak]

Knowing the Right Time to Hire as a Startup with Aamir Virani, Advisor, Explorer, and President of VSHAD Holdings

Building a startup from scratch involves testing the feasibility of your ideas, checking whether they work, raising funds, scaling and getting proof of concept. All these require your utmost concentration, and you can focus on what matters when there is no internal turmoil in the company. As a result, you must hire and work with people who are not only skilled and talented but also share your values. These people are those you respect and those with the same cultural alignment. In this episode of The Gradience Podcast, Jose Guardado is joined by Aamir Virani, Advisor, Explorer, and President of VSHAD Holdings. They cover: 👉 [ 00:05:19 ] How working as an employee in other companies before starting your own allows you to learn 👉 [ 00:09:31 ] Mutual respect is one of the things to be on the lookout for when co-founding a company with someone 👉 [ 00:16:30 ] Test-run your ideas and your products to ensure they work before looking for a big-time investor. Have a proof of concept 👉 [ 00:19:07 ] When bringing someone new into your team, ensure that there's a responsibility the person is accountable for and that there's cultural alignment 👉 [ 00:26:36 ] As a new startup, you don't have to hire too fast, especially if it's for a task that isn't pressing or doesn't require much expertise, because you might not have enough funding to do that 👉 [ 00:30:37 ] As a founder, you must ensure that your teams are comfortable and in a place that allows them to succeed, even after the startup is acquired   👉 [ 00:33:23 ] Acquisition and merger of a startup can serve as an opportunity to learn for the founder of that startup 👉 [ 00:38:59 ] There are different ways you can work in government service. You can apply and join. An example is the US Digital Service If you are a startup company interested in learning all about the challenges you might encounter through your journey, tune in to this episode of The Gradience Podcast, a Podcast by Build Talent. Subscribe here: 👉 YouTube: https://bit.ly/3MCamCW [https://bit.ly/3MCamCW]  👉 Apple: https://apple.co/3JIqDDV [https://apple.co/3JIqDDV]  👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan [https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan] 👉 RSS: https://bit.ly/38yhi4n [https://bit.ly/38yhi4n] 👉 Email: podcast@buildtalent.io [podcast@buildtalent.io]  And connect with Aamir here: 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avirani [https://www.linkedin.com/in/avirani]   [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielyoungchen]    👉 Twitter:  https://twitter.com/avirani [https://twitter.com/avirani] 👉 VSHAD Holdings: https://vshadholdings.com [https://vshadholdings.com/] About the Show “The Gradience” is a podcast by Build Talent, wherein each episode, we’ll be speaking with a founder or expert as we discuss the art & science of hiring leaders, why it matters, and how you can keep up.  The Gradience is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so [https://www.fame.so/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=masters-of-community-with-david-spinks?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=confessions-of-a-b2b-marketer] Previous guests include: Riley Ennis of Freenome, Matt Birnbaum of Pear VC, Derek Lo of Medallion, Chandan Lodha of CoinTracker, Jennifer Smith of Scribe Check out our 3 most downloaded episodes: * Prioritizing Culture with Riley Ennis, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer of Freenome [https://thegradience.com/e/lnqr4w38-prioritizing-culture-riley-ennis-freenome] * Acquiring Your Dream Team with Evan Walden, Co-Founder & CEO of Getro [https://thegradience.com/e/x8v53m7n-ep-2-acquiring-your-dream-team-with-evan-walden-co-founder-ceo-of-getro] * The Role of Data Science in Early Stage Companies, with Kevin Novak, Managing Partner & Founder at Rackhouse Venture Capital [https://thegradience.com/e/286992wn-role-of-data-science-kevin-novak]

The Importance of Hiring Employees with High EQ, with Tim Tully, Partner at Menlo Ventures

Hiring smart and empathetic people is a great way to boost your business and surround yourself with effective colleagues. Employees shouldn't be motivated by money to work and should be excited about the prospect of working for the company, as the company's growth should be their aim. A company needs to hire these sorts of people and include them in its hierarchy.  It is important to have the ability to identify good people with a balance high IQ and  EQ who will work for the company. These are the types of people to build a company's ideology around. In this episode of The Gradience Podcast, Nigel is joined by Tim Tully, Partner at Menlo Ventures. They cover: 👉 [ 00:11:28 ] To be good at hiring the right people, you need to have an understanding of management and identifying emotional intelligence 👉 [ 00:13:01 ] Be on the lookout for smart people with a balanced IQ and EQ 👉 [ 00:14:00 ] When growing your company, train some employees that would have the ability to recognize good talent and high-value individuals, this way, your ideology is maintained in the future  👉 [ 00:16:30 ] Your employees need to be emotionally intelligent, if you hire the right people that share your values they will find the right people for you.   👉 [ 00:20:17 ] Ego tends to bring about failures, so models should be developed to combat these challenges. The best way to tackle this is to have a head of the team that is responsible for the team's success or failure  👉 [ 00:23:50 ] Money shouldn't be a motivator to work, you need to provide your engineers with reasons why they should work for you and what they tend to benefit from working for a company, this will help them find faster routes to problems  👉 [ 00:31:49 ] New startups shouldn't overhire. They would have problems with funding as it's difficult raising funds. Hire only essential persons your company needs  👉 [ 00:33:40 ] When hiring employees, its preferable to hire engineers with 10x potential as they would provide better results for the company than a regular engineer  If you’re interested in scaling your company with quality hires, want to learn how to identify employees with high IQ and EQ that will be beneficial to your company, or want to build a high-performing team, tune in to this episode of The Gradience Podcast, a Podcast by Build Talent. Subscribe here: 👉 YouTube: https://bit.ly/3MCamCW [https://bit.ly/3MCamCW]  👉 Apple: https://apple.co/3JIqDDV [https://apple.co/3JIqDDV]  👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan [https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan] 👉 RSS: https://bit.ly/38yhi4n [https://bit.ly/38yhi4n] 👉 Email: podcast@buildtalent.io [podcast@buildtalent.io]  And connect with Tim here: 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytully [https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothytully]   [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielyoungchen]    👉 Twitter:  https://twitter.com/timt [https://twitter.com/timt] 👉 Menlo Ventures: https://www.menlovc.com [https://www.menlovc.com] About the Show “The Gradience” is a podcast by Build Talent & hosted by Nigel Robinson, wherein each episode, we’ll be speaking with a founder or expert as we discuss the art & science of hiring leaders, why it matters, and how you can keep up.  The Gradience is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so [https://www.fame.so/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=masters-of-community-with-david-spinks?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=confessions-of-a-b2b-marketer] Previous guests include: Riley Ennis of Freenome, Matt Birnbaum of Pear VC, Derek Lo of Medallion, Chandan Lodha of CoinTracker, Jennifer Smith of Scribe Check out our 3 most downloaded episodes: * Prioritizing Culture with Riley Ennis, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer of Freenome [https://thegradience.com/e/lnqr4w38-prioritizing-culture-riley-ennis-freenome] * Acquiring Your Dream Team with Evan Walden, Co-Founder & CEO of Getro [https://thegradience.com/e/x8v53m7n-ep-2-acquiring-your-dream-team-with-evan-walden-co-founder-ceo-of-getro] * The Role of Data Science in Early Stage Companies, with Kevin Novak, Managing Partner & Founder at Rackhouse Venture Capital [https://thegradience.com/e/286992wn-role-of-data-science-kevin-novak]

Celebrating the First 20 Episodes of The Gradience Podcast

To celebrate this milestone, we will look back on some of the best moments of our podcast conversations, which feature: * Adrien Treuille [https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrien-treuille-52215718] Co-Founder & CEO of Streamlit [https://streamlit.io] * Evan Walden [https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanwalden] Co-Founder & CEO of Getro [https://www.getro.com/] * Derek Lo [https://www.linkedin.com/in/derektlo] Founder & CEO of Medallion [https://medallion.co/] * Tammy Han [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammyhan] Head of Talent of Emergence Capital [https://www.emcap.com/] * Brent Goldman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentgoldman/] Engineering Leader and Angel Investor * Dan Chen [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielyoungchen/] Visiting Fellow of Sequoia Capital [https://www.sequoiacap.com/] * Jose Guardado [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseguardado] and Brian Bocchino [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbocchino] of Build Talent [https://buildtalent.io/] * Jordan Fisher [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-fisher-81145025] Founder & CEO of Standard AI [https://standard.ai/] * Gia Scinto [https://www.linkedin.com/in/giascinto/] Partner of Launch Search Partners [https://launchsearchpartners.com/] * Riley Ennis [https://twitter.com/rileycennis] Co-Founder & Chief Profuct Officer of Freenome [https://www.freenome.com] * Kevin Novak [https://www.linkedin.com/in/novakkm/] Managing Partner & Founder of Rackhouse Venture Capital [https://www.rackhouse.vc/] * Matt Birnbaum [https://www.linkedin.com/in/birnbing/] Talent Partner of Pear VC [https://pear.vc/] * Chandan Lodha [https://www.linkedin.com/in/clodha] Co-Founder of CoinTracker [https://www.cointracker.io/] * Jay Fulcher [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayfulcher/] Operating Partner of Cheyenne Ventures [https://cheyennevc.com/] * Amanda Daering [https://linkedin.com/in/amandadaering] CEO of Newance [https://www.newance.co/] * Jeff M Winter [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffwintersearch/] VP of Talent Aquisition at Chime [https://www.chime.com/] * Jennifer Smith [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferreneesmith/] CEO & Co-Founder of Scribe [https://scribehow.com/signup?utm_campaign=company_page&utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=organic] * Martin Siniawski [https://www.linkedin.com/in/msinia/] Co-Founder & CEO of Podcast App [https://podcast.app] * Paula Judge [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulajudge/] VP Talent of Accel [https://www.accel.com/] * Robin Choy [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbchoy/] CEO of HireSweet [https://www.hiresweet.com/] If you’re interested in getting team-building tips from successful founders, learning how to create an organic culture for your team, and building a top cross-functional team, tune in to this episode of The Gradience Podcast, a Podcast by Build Talent. Subscribe here: 👉 YouTube: https://bit.ly/3MCamCW [https://bit.ly/3MCamCW]  👉 Apple: https://apple.co/3JIqDDV [https://apple.co/3JIqDDV]  👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan [https://spoti.fi/3HbsAan] 👉 RSS: https://bit.ly/38yhi4n [https://bit.ly/38yhi4n] 👉 Email: podcast@buildtalent.io [podcast@buildtalent.io]  About the Show “The Gradience” is a podcast by Build Talent & hosted by Nigel Robinson, wherein each episode, we’ll be speaking with a founder or expert as we discuss the art & science of hiring leaders, why it matters, and how you can keep up. The Gradience is hand crafted by our friends over at: fame.so [https://www.fame.so/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=masters-of-community-with-david-spinks?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=bcast&utm_campaign=confessions-of-a-b2b-marketer] Previous guests include: Riley Ennis of Freenome, Matt Birnbaum of Pear VC, Derek Lo of Medallion, Chandan Lodha of CoinTracker, Jennifer Smith of Scribe Check out our 3 most downloaded episodes: * Prioritizing Culture with Riley Ennis, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer of Freenome [https://thegradience.com/e/lnqr4w38-prioritizing-culture-riley-ennis-freenome] * Acquiring Your Dream Team with Evan Walden, Co-Founder & CEO of Getro [https://thegradience.com/e/x8v53m7n-ep-2-acquiring-your-dream-team-with-evan-walden-co-founder-ceo-of-getro] * The Role of Data Science in Early Stage Companies, with Kevin Novak, Managing Partner & Founder at Rackhouse Venture Capital [https://thegradience.com/e/286992wn-role-of-data-science-kevin-novak]