As employee #81 at TubeMogul in 2013, I was lucky enough to gain first hand experience of how the profile of new members of the team change as an organization grows from startup all the way up to corporate behemoth, via the sale to Adobe in 2017.
Hiring requirements evolved as we moved from startup, to mid sized company, to public company, and then finally being absorbed into Adobe. The way that the profile of new hires changed was fascinating to watch, as the needs of the business changed and we got bigger and bigger.
The biggest change I remember was, as the hot video advertising start up from Berkely, California, was when we started hiring people from Google and Microsoft.
It was a sign of the good things to come, however, it also represented a different type of hire. In many ways I missed the people that were initially hired as they were like me, a bit more scrappy and needed less structure to drive success for the company.
The hiring requirements for start ups are unique and that is why when we work with our start up clients we use this knowledge and understanding to focus on non-technical skills, as well as their technical prowess.
Here at Soli Vargas Recruiting we work with clients across industry, from AI to Ad Tech and Retail to Metals and Mining. Our specialism is helping clients find the remote LATAM technology talent they need.
Our first US based startup clients have tended to have less than 100 employees, as a result they needed a certain type of person when looking for their LATAM tech talent. This is where we put my experiences at TubeMogul to work!
But what traits do we look for specifically when working with clients like these?
Just before we launched with our first startup client, I wanted to get a gut check on any changes in the startup world (as it had been a few years since I had been in the thick of it), so I got in touch with my former big boss, who has now transitioned into a tech VC.
It was great to reconnect after a couple of years without being in touch.
After having a catch up I went into sales pitch mode and outlined the economic benefits of working with LATAM tech talent for US companies – between 25% and 50% savings.
At that point he said something that immediately, reminded of many of the things I had learnt at TubeMogul back in the early days.
“Jack, 50% cost savings is great but we want the best of the best.”
Startup culture is the most important thing.
From this point, when working with our clients who wanted the best of the best as part of their brief, we decided to make sure each candidate skewed highly for these non-technical characteristics:
High do to say ratio
This is a classic TubeMogul phrase that has stayed with me for the last 10 years. Are you a person that does a very high percentage of the things you are going to do? Startups typically prefer people with a bias for action.
Creativity / Scrappy
Another phrase we had was “figure shit out” or “FSO” – we even had coffee cups with this written on the side! This gave every team member the permission to come up with creative solutions to problems that we faced, whether you were a seller, developer or product manager there was a collective responsibility for finding solutions for our customers.
Open minded and flexible
Being able to work in an environment where many people in the organization play multiple roles, including you as a developer or product manager, is also an important skill. Being ready to adapt to change quickly is key. Product priorities can shift based on client feedback and you might need to shift focus to a more important priority.
Being self-starter
Being a self-starter is critical when we are working in smaller organizations and teams, especially when you are trying to solve big problems on behalf of your clients!
Accountable
When we move fast things can break, and as a result it is also very important to take ownership of your work, whether there have been good outcomes or bad. Showing that you can take responsibility will help you get your foot in the door of a startup.
Results orientated
Reaching your goal is key. Resources are tight in a startup environment so being comfortable with outcome focused environments is also an important skill.
Culturally yes. Building an identity, ethos and vision that each member of the team can believe in and work towards is very important. If you don’t want to work in an environment like this, then we will not introduce you to our clients in this sector.
At the same time we appreciate that technical skills and quality of a persons work is very, very, very important too.
When it comes to working with the world’s most innovative companies, who are start ups today, they want the best of the best.
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