6 Questions To Ask When Hiring For Your Startup

The success of any new startup often depends on the founder’s ability to cultivate a great team, according to a recent study conducted by the Rotman School of Management. This revelation hasn’t gone unnoticed by investors. Within the last few years, it’s become increasingly common for recruiters and investors to look at the entire team, rather than just the founder when evaluating the future success of a company.

So, how do you recruit a team that has the expertise and experience to build a successful company and attract investors? You ask them the right questions during their initial interview.

Here are 6 questions funded startups from Meet the Drapers are asking their potential new hires:

Get to know them on a personal level

A candidate with the perfect education, background, and experience may look great on paper, but that doesn’t guarantee a good team dynamic. Learn about your potential team members and see if they will be a good fit to your startup environment. After all, to create a successful startup, a team needs to be comfortable and get along to achieve a desired goal together. These questions should be fun, making both you and the candidate feel comfortable and relaxed.

1. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?

2. Teach me something I don’t know in the next five minutes.

Do they know your industry?

While a potential team member may not have the strongest background in your industry, they should have the ability to research, understand, and adapt their skills to better your product and/or service within your industry.

3. Who are our three biggest competitors?

4. Where do you see our startup going in the next five years?

It’s not about what they achieved, it’s about how they handled it.

As our world gets smaller and opportunities get bigger, many candidates are going to have almost identical resumes with similar education and experience. In order to differentiate your candidates, you need to ask them how they made a launch or project successful. Understanding how they handled a difficult situation and/or conflict will provide you insight on their ability to be adaptable, flexible, creative, and resilient when times get hard.

5. Can you share an example of when a superior asked you to do something you weren’t comfortable with?

6. Tell me about a time when you achieved something great that wasn’t your responsibility. What motivated you to take on that responsibility?

Already hired a great team and ready to share your product with the world? Apply for Season 4 of Meet the Drapers here! Startups who have pitched their business on Meet the Drapers have received over $11 million in funding and are connected to Silicon Valley’s top VCs just by joining the show. Applications are due by September 15, 2020!