Q14 / TEAM
Problem 12
Who should I hire?
Hire on evidence, not gut feel.
Four boxes. Same interviewers. Scores out of 10. The best CV in the pile isn't always the right hire for your stage.
- Time: 5 MIN PER CANDIDATE
- Who: WITH INTERVIEWERS
- Stage: STAGES 2-3
- Access: FREE
Score my candidates
The short answer
How should a startup score job candidates? Score each candidate 0-10 on four boxes: Culture (a review warning in your first 10 hires, not an automatic rejection), Skills (can they do the work themselves?), Business fit (have they done this in SaaS, at your deal size?) and Stage fit (have they worked at your stage?). For Skills, Business fit and Stage fit: 0-4 fail, 5-7 trainable, 8-10 hire. A Culture score below 5 is an advisory review warning; assess it with the rest of the evidence. If it's close: culture, then stage, then skills, then business fit.
How it works
- Set up the role and who's interviewing.
- Each interviewer scores each candidate on the four boxes.
- See totals, review warnings and a clear winner - or a clear "keep looking".
Worked example
A rep from a competitor scores 9 on skills and business fit. But they sold $100k deals over 9 months with heavy support, and you sell $3k deals in 30 days with none. Stage fit: 3. That's a fail - and six months of no sales avoided.
FAQ
Why does stage fit matter so much?
People from big companies are used to teams around them. At Stage 2 they need to do the work, not manage it.
Does industry experience matter?
Less than you think. A good SaaS candidate learns your vertical in about three months.
Why the same interviewers?
One person's 6 is another person's 4.
From the book
Problem 12 - Who should I hire?
Use this next
Score my candidates