Anti-Resume Hiring Focus

Dharmesh Shah shares his perspective on hiring at HubSpot, emphasizing the importance of finding talented individuals who can execute rather than those with impressive credentials. He believes in identifying "diamonds in the rough" rather than making headline-worthy hires.

Key Points:

• Anti-Press Release Hiring Philosophy:

  • Deliberately avoided hiring people worthy of press releases
  • If a hire was worthy of a press release announcement, they considered it a wrong hire
  • Experience at big companies (Google, Microsoft, Facebook) doesn't necessarily translate to startup success

• Focus on Raw Potential:

  • Look for "smart people that get shit done"
  • Seek individuals with high "wattage" - measurably smart but also action-oriented
  • Value people who have a "predilection to action" - they solve problems immediately when they see them

• Early HubSpot Hiring Strategy:

  • First 8 employees: 7 came from MIT Sloan
  • Started with network hiring - friends who understood the vision
  • Offered low initial salaries ($5,000/month) to ensure people joined for the right reasons
  • Built culture around the idea that if you're there for salary, you're there for the wrong reason

• Diamond in the Rough Approach:

  • Better to identify future talent early than hire established names
  • Think of hiring like "buying a stock early" versus going after already successful people
  • Focus on potential over past accomplishments
  • Harder to do arbitrage with specialized skills from big companies

• Hiring Criteria:

  • Look for people who can't help but take action when they see problems
  • Value the intersection of intelligence and execution ability
  • Prioritize learning potential over current expertise
  • Seek those who are "smarter than people willing to grind it out, and willing to grind it out more than people who are smarter"