Passion. It comes with a certain kind of intensity. When someone is passionate about an idea, there is a fervor to their work, an intense desire not only to bring the work to fruition, but to see their idea wonderfully realized. When I was in college, I fell in love with photography. I loved my camera. I bought special cloths to clean the lens, a special bag to protect it. I read every book I could find about photography. I couldn’t wait to develop film or watch the latent image appear under the red glow of the darkroom lights. I was the last student to leave the darkroom when the sun went down. I was passionate about photography. The first job I was offered after graduation was taking portraits at Sears for $6.50 per hour and I turned it down. I couldn’t believe the compensation. Surely Sears could afford to pay more than minimum wage to a college graduate! Passion with all its intensity is diminished when rewards do not support the intensity of passion. I remember the young manager who hired me on the spot, was incredibly disappointed. Perhaps this was her first hiring campaign. She said she would make sure to tell the next interviewee the pay rate at the beginning of the interview. My point: when a founder begins hiring a team passion is imperative to the work, but it must be supported, motivated, and appreciated in order to acquire and keep top performers in your company.

“The biggest challenge in hiring a team is recognizing passion. Especially with the team that helps build Jetset Times, it’s not enough to just “love traveling.” Every single person on the team has to be passionate about journalism, creativity, making things work, seeing a long-term vision. Passion also can’t be pinpointed on a resume, it’s only in the presence of relentless work ethics and vibrant speech. It’s best revealed with time, which makes it difficult to recognize in the hiring process.”

Founder & CEO Wendy Hung, JetSet Times

There are many dilemmas facing a founder when hiring their founding team. Finding, hiring, and maintaining valuable employees is multifaceted not only at startup, but as the company matures as well. In Noam Wasserman’s book, The Founders Dilemma, he states that “founders face the same dilemmas with hiring decisions that they face with cofounding decisions, but with the added complexity of aligning the startup’s stage of development, its level of formality….and its available resources” (245). In Figure 8.9 (246), Wasserman breaks down the “three Rs” he discusses earlier in the chapter (211) of relationships, roles, and rewards as the company begins at startup, moves through transition, and becomes a mature business. The hiring needs of a startup are significantly different than a mature business. The startup begins working with personal networks, generalists, a low cash flow, and of course passion. Transitioning out of the beginning stages often sheds light on “decisions that seem ideal at first…[which reveal] employees at all levels struggle to scale with a maturing startup” (209). Titles and roles that were not clearly defined in the beginning often create tension. Some employees lack the skills or knowledge needed to progress in their position. And hiring to replace or add positions must focus on weak connections since the founder has likely already exhausted his or her personal network. If a business is able to persevere, the rewards come in investors, their financial and social capital, and all of the complications that emerge as a business becomes of age.

“When hiring someone in the technology field, it’s important to look for passion above anything else. It sounds cliche, but let me explain why. People who are passionate can be trained in everything even if they don’t have the “experience.” They are the most driven worker that you can have in the workplace. He or she can accomplish everything they are told to do and will go beyond the typical job requirements.”

Founder & CEO Jonathan Tarud, Koombea
100 person team working to build powerful technology & beautiful user experiences

I believe all of these stages require the aforementioned passion. How else could a small team of cofounders make it through all of the awkward phases of entrepreneurship? Why would employees accept the risk and relatively low compensation of helping to build someone else’s dream? And why would investors offer their capital if there was not a passion somewhere for what the founders want to create? Time and time again, I have read quotes from successful entrepreneurs, and the consensus among the averages is to hire employees who have an intensity of passion for what you want to create in your business. Then, depending on the stage of your business, consider their relationship, roles, and the rewards you will offer for their passion.