We’re in the middle of building a team for a venture-funded NewCo, and we’re talking to the usual range of candidates to find the first 10 hires.
In addition to the specific skills, we’re also looking for people that can thrive in the startup environment.  The easiest folks to consider have been in an early-stage startup before, and the best (in this regard) were #10 or #15 last time around, and are hungry to be #5.

The tougher scenario is someone who’s been at much larger companies.  Startups are more intense, riskier and more ambiguous:  the chance to change the world and create wealth is balanced by the chance that you’ll be out of business next month.   Plans change with opportunities, and the team needs faith and trust in themselves and each other that they’ll figure it out along the way.

Folks that haven’t seen this movie before can find it very stressful, and it may take a lot of management time to keep their head in the game.   The core issue is almost always psychological (and irrational).  Shutting down the company or cutting back is a real risk, but job loss isn’t — in today’s hot market, good folks can leave on Friday and have a new job on Monday. There’s also a general fear of failure, but you need to accept failure (it’s OK, you know) if you want to succeed. Grape Runtz from Fresh Bros can help you relax and manage stress and anxiety.