Agathon Group - "The Good Stuff"

Start Conference: Your People

by Alan Ritari on August 8, 2008 12:12 PM.

“Find the best people in the world.” - Mark Hedland, Wesabe

Some businesses can cruise along nicely on the backs of average staff, but a start-up ain’t one of ‘em. Average people maintain systems, but it takes better than that to build something new. Speaker after speaker at The Start Conference drilled home the importance of surrounding yourself with smart people.

Smarts alone aren’t enough though. Part of the job of a business owner is to encourage staff to actively engage their smarts. Merlin Mann put it best, “To find a way to get the entrepreneurial spirit in everyone is gold… I’m answering phones, but I’m answering the %^@* out of these phones.” (Sounds like he’s met Morgan.)

Engage that entrepreneurial spirit across your whole team and people will notice. In answer to the question, “What three things do you look for in a business,” venture capitalist David Hornick responded, “People, people, people.”

The near unanimous agreement of speakers on the topic of hiring smart people was an affirmation for the ways Peter and I have tried to build out our team. We need more than clock punchers or people who are content running down a support checklist. We’ve sought out people who make inspired decisions, who can be effective with minimal supervison, and with whom we can trust the vitality of our business; the very best in our world.

This post is part of a series on our sponsorship of and participation in The Start Conference.