Startup to Unicorn - A Hiring Playbook

Jonathan Lau, Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition, Wealthsimple

Unicorns are the tech industry’s most impressive milestone and are a rare achievement, to say the least. But for every Unicorn (privately owned company valued at over $1 billion) you hear about in the news, 50+ startups are clamoring to become the next. Whether it’s at the seed stage or Series B, the narrative is often the same: “We’re growing like crazy and can’t hire fast enough.” These companies often have limited hiring resources, occasionally one recruiter, or more likely, a single HR Business Partner or Generalist wearing twelve different hats.

Let’s say you’re this mighty team of one, and your startup has just closed a round of funding and is primed for growth. You need to hire 50 people in the next quarter, and these can’t be just any hires; they need to be top talent, culturally aligned, and at just the right compensation. Where do you even start?

I’ve been fortunate to have hired talent for two Canadian startups that scaled to Unicorn status during my tenure. Though they were completely different companies and within different industries, the urgency to hire was the same. Looking back now, I’ve narrowed my approach to 3 Guiding Principles to hire for fast growth.

At my first company, I had to learn these tips the hard way. Our hiring process was inconsistent, causing us to lose candidates at the offer stage. At my next company, I was able to implement what I learned and found success. They might look a bit different at your company, but these guidelines helped me along the way, and I hope they can help you, too.

1. Find the balance between urgency and quality.

Businesses will always default to urgency. They needed these hires yesterday, and the company will fail without them. While speed is important, there is also real value in taking the time to understand how this role fits into the business. A well-run intake and discovery session will help set you up for success. Show up as a strategic partner and understand the timeline and the urgency.

Be curious and determine how this role impacts the business. How do they fit into the existing team? How does our compensation compare to the market? How will we know this person is successful in the first three months? Every question is an additional data point to help make your search both easier and more efficient. Developing this partnership with the Hiring Manager also establishes credibility that will save time for future searches as you continue to grow.

2. Find your hiring differentiator

While this may seem obvious to a Recruiter, attracting top talent requires at least one hiring differentiator that makes your organization worth joining. Even with exciting products, a fast

Paced environment and minimal red tape, startups have the obvious downside of being high risk and may never make it to Unicorn status. So how can you convince top talent (likely also gainfully employed) to join your rocket ship?

Contrary to popular belief, there are far more differentiators than just compensation. You can also leverage other differentiators like exciting projects, innovative ways of working (No Meeting Days, Hackathons) or culture builders (Retreats, Leadership Programs). You don’t need all of these, but you need something appealing that makes you stand out, which you can later (when ready) build into your employee value proposition.

3. Develop your hiring teams

With a resource-constrained Recruiting function, your Hiring Managers are your greatest allies. They have a vested interest in building a high-performing team and will put in the extra effort to find top candidates. Leverage this motivation and develop your hiring managers to become recruiting experts. Take the time to train your leaders and interviewers to source, interview, and assess effectively, and it will pay off in the long run.

There are a lot fewer Unicorns nowadays compared to the last several years, but startups continue to pop up regularly. And while joining at the ground floor is risky, intimidating, and even scary, the experience of contributing to fast growth is irreplaceable. You will learn a lot about the business and even more about yourself, and you’ll bring those lessons forward to the rest of your career.