Zhang Xiaoyu: Three Criteria for Hiring at a Startup

YC / Three criteria for hiring: 1. Drive For an early-stage startup, the first hiring criterion should be drive. Many founders ask: which matters more, ability or attitude? “Attitude” here should be very close to what we mean by “drive.” Over time, a consensus gradually emerged in the internet industry: for a startup, attitude matters far more than ability. In other words, drive is the most important quality. Drive means the ability to motivate yourself—to face difficulties, rely on your own abilities, and achieve a goal without someone else having to push you. Apple, Nike, Starbucks, Airbnb… These great companies did not actually emerge from some astonishing technology or a genius’s brilliant idea. More often, professionals overcame many obstacles and made a good product. When starting a business, what we need is not a flash of genius but something much simpler: make the thing, find customers, and sell it. What is needed is a high level of execution and drive across the entire team—the determination not to stop until the goal is reached. Often, this has little to do with grades, family background, attending a prestigious university, or having worked at a famous large company. The relationship can even run in the opposite direction: people who appear accomplished and successful have many fallback options, so when real difficulties arise, they may be the first to retreat. Leading Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen once said: “Just as you cannot teach height in basketball, you cannot teach drive. Some people have it and some do not. What you need most is to find those who have it and do everything you can to get them to join.” Conversely, if you are looking for a job, try to identify the industry and type of work in which you have the greatest drive. We all have different strengths and preferences; we cannot be equally driven about everything. 2. Curiosity Curiosity is a broad concept. I think it roughly comes down to whether someone is willing to keep getting better at what they do or at a craft they possess. Curious people keep up with developments at the frontier of their profession or skill. They continually read, observe, and think about how their work could be improved. They do this not because they have to, but because they enjoy it. Curiosity, too, is a quality that cannot be cultivated—or, more precisely, one that a startup lacks the time and energy to cultivate. At Nike, Coach Bowerman, Phil Knight’s partner and employee, spent much of each day thinking about how to improve running shoes. He was even willing to give away technology he had developed, as long as it could be put to use in shoes. Early in a startup, roles are unclear and tasks are often chaotic. The company therefore particularly needs employees with drive and curiosity who can get things done. This is one of the clearest distinctions between startups and large companies with more staff than useful work. Here is another small hiring technique. A CEO often asks candidates this question in interviews: Which websites that are inaccessible in China do you visit most often? Candidates who can answer often have a habit of proactively seeking out information at the frontier. (Robin: I suggest asking candidates what technology or skill they have learned most recently, why they chose it, and how much effort and time they put into it…) 3. Integrity Character and ethics are difficult to judge at a glance. Ultimately, though, you will find that they are the most important qualities when starting a business. Whether you are hiring or applying for a job, the integrity of the people you work with is almost always the decisive factor in whether you enjoy the work. Still, character reveals itself over time, so discovering it requires patience. Paul Graham described a method he often uses when interviewing founders for YC. He picks a topic he knows reasonably well and asks for the candidate’s views. If the candidate can answer, he goes deeper. As the questions become more detailed, the candidate will inevitably encounter something they do not know. Graham then observes how the founder handles it: some honestly admit they do not know, while others bluff. Graham says that anyone willing to bluff in an interview will also mislead their colleagues when working or running a business. To judge a good leader, you need to look at just one quality: whenever that person grows, progresses, or gets promoted, do their subordinates become better off too, or does that advancement come at the expense of their subordinates’ resources and health? Here is a metaphor from Xu Haofeng, screenwriter of The Grandmaster: There will always be two kinds of people in the world. One is like a wildfire: nothing grows where they stay; as they decline, they drag others down, and as they destroy themselves, they destroy others. The other is like an auspicious creature: wherever they pass, the water nourishes, the soil grows fertile, birds sing, and flowers bloom. I hope you can be the latter kind of person. #DedaoZhangXiaoyuClassicBusinessCaseCourse