G98e Hiring & Onboarding (11)

#1 (Sales and Growth)

Make progress on Sales and your Weekly Growth Goals. Push yourself to get actual sales this week, which may be user payments, a signed contract, a pre-payment or a signed letter of intent. Write a couple of sentences on any Sales that you secured. Write another couple of sentences on how you achieved or missed your Weekly Growth Goals from the previous week. If you need to adjust your Weekly Growth Goals, provide the updated set of goals with a couple of sentences on why the adjustment was necessary. (4 Hours)

#2 (Product)

Finalize your Next Release. Work with the Project Team to finish the current Release, and start planning the Next Release. Provide any links, documentation or evidence to show that the current Release is completed. Write a Next Release Plan with your Project Team, and update the Project Plan is the Next Release to reflect any changes. Write a couple of sentences on how you have changed the Next Release Plan based on the lessons learned from finishing the current Release. (3 Hours)

#3 (Outsourcing)

Review what Roles to outsource. Use your recent Release work, sales and program work to update your Hiring Needs. Review your rank ordered list of Roles that can include new Team Members or replacing underperforming Team Members. Consider what you want to outsource to vendors, ranging from an Accountant to a Project Vendor. As a rule, a startup can outsource anything that does not make the startup unique. Write the name of any Outsourced Role that you would delegate to a vendor, and write a couple of sentences that describe the benefits and setbacks of relying on a vendor for each Outsourced Role. Provide a bulleted list for each Outsourced Role of the processes that you will use to work with the vendor and keep the project up-to-date, which may include weekly calls, email status updates and larger monthly performance reviews. Provide a bulleted list of three vendors that can complete the work for each Outsourced Role with a link to their website. If you are in the process of adding Project Vendors, then include these in the Outsourced Roles and initiate a project with the Project Vendors that you have selected. (2 Hours)

#4 (Hiring Plan)

Prepare a Hiring Plan. Review your work on Outsourcing and Hiring Needs, and figure out which Roles can be outsourced and which roles need to be hired. Create a bulleted list for the positions that you need to hire over the next 18 months. Order the positions in your list by the timing of when the individuals need to be hired. Research the salary and equity rates for each Role at small startups, and write down your compensation for each individual. For any Roles you wish to fill in the next three months, write down the steps you will take each week in order to fill that Role. Attach a link to your Hiring Plan here. (1 Hour)

#5 (Ethics)

Develop a code of ethics for your Hiring Plan. Great organizations hire and fire based on the company’s values. The Founder Institute has developed a universal Founder Code for Ethics, called IMPACT, where each letter stands for a value or ethic. The six are: Integrity – Be honest in all of your dealings and treat people fairly as you honor your commitments in pursuit of your mission; Mission – Articulate a large vision to make the world better and make it your mission to achieve that vision; Pay it Forward – Proactively help others to succeed with their vision by sharing the wisdom from your failures and successes; Adaptable – Learn and improve the business continuously over time in the pursuit of your vision; Collaborative – Work with others and practice inclusion across age, gender and race to realize your vision; Transparency – Foster a culture that openly shares all reasonable operational details of your business to develop your vision. Leverage the IMPACT Code or write your own five to seven company values and write a brief sentence on why each value is important to you. Include your company values to your Hiring Plan. (1 Hour)

#6 (Known Candidates)

Search for known Candidates to hire. Identify everyone that you know who is appropriate to fill each of the top two or three Roles outlined in your Hiring Plan. Take some time to consider if you need a Co-Founder using this guide (https://fi.co/guides/1231), and, if you do need a Co-Founder, this will be the first and most important Role. Provide a bulleted list with the names of at least three Candidates for each Role, and include the Linkedin profile or online bio of each Candidate, as well as a brief description of their relationship to you. Research possible Candidates from your previous email outreach, from your Advisor discussions and from your personal network. You may also consider bringing on an Advisor as a Team Member. Having other people working on the business, even if you can only afford a student or intern, will make a dramatic difference to your success. (2 Hours)

#7 (Hiring Process)

Develop a hiring and onboarding process to add Team Members into your organization. Identify a series of steps to bring on new Team Members within your organization by following this guide (https://fi.co/guides/801). Customize the steps and the order of the Hiring Process to match your vision and values, and then write a few sentences on how you will manage each step to reflect the vision and values of your organization. (2 Hours)

#8 (Test Projects)

Develop at least one Test Project for each of your top two or three Roles. A well designed Test Project should create opportunities for a credible Candidate to demonstrate four attributes: skill, personality, cooperation and passion. Write one paragraph that describes each Test Project to a Candidate with friendly and easy to follow instructions. Next, write one sentence about what you want to learn about the Candidate in the Test Project. For key Roles, you may have two or three Test Projects that increase in complexity and duration over time. The Test Project may include actual work that you need to have done. (2 Hours)

#9 (Hiring Materials)

Produce key materials to start recruiting Candidates. Prominently place a Jobs or Hiring link on any websites or online materials that you control. Make it evident that you are hiring by setting up a job listing page where Candidates can submit materials after viewing a job description. Provide the links to the various pages. Write a series of emails to answer inbound interest, to reject unqualified applicants, and to set up phone interviews with qualified applicants. Write a series of short and friendly email templates to recruit friends and online contacts. Write an orientation sheet that contains the vision, mission, values and desired culture of the organization to be handed to each Candidate that starts a Test Project as part of the onboarding. (3 Hours)

#10 (Advisor Review)

Solicit feedback from your Advisors. Arrange a 30 minute virtual meeting or phone call with at least one of your Advisors to discuss your outsourcing work and your Hiring Plan. Present everything that you have done. Discuss with the Advisors what your weekly and monthly Hiring Goals should be with respect to the number of applicants, the number of Candidates reviewed, the number of interviews and number of Test Projects initiated. Write bulleted notes of the feedback received from each Advisor. Go back and update your Hiring Plan with your other hiring work, Advisor feedback and refinements. (1 Hour)

#11 (Recruiting Outreach)

Reach out to find new Candidates. Based on the feedback from your Advisors, provide a bulleted list of events and activities that you will attend or undertake each week for the next three months to identify new Candidates in the top two or three Roles. List all of the events and activities week by week. For the events, research specialized events that would appeal to the Roles, such as hackathons or a marketing Meetup, and add these events to your Business Calendar. For the activities, consider developing a referral program, leveraging social media messaging or advertising on job boards, and include any language that you plan to use for these different Recruiting Outreach channels. (1 Hour)

#12 (Time Allocation)

Meticulously plan your time to create your “Founder’s Schedule”. At this point, you have a regular series of activities related to the Team, Product and Traction, as well as bookkeeping and other functions. Start planning out your week and your month to allocate blocks of time to address each recurring business activity, providing you with uninterrupted time to work on the activity. In your planning, allow enough flexible time to address activities related to your medium-term goals. For help planning and visualizing your time, use this calendar worksheet http://fndri.com/2CSnMKG. Provide a bulleted list of your budgeted time allocations and add these to your Business Calendar. (2 Hours)

#13 (Leadership)

Develop your persona as a leader. Write one paragraph about how you want to lead your organization. First, describe how you want your Team Members to view you. Then, describe how you will manage your Team Members. Third, discuss how you will help your Team Members to grow in their Roles. Write a second paragraph that describes your management style and your plans for dispute resolution. First, write the types of disputes that you anticipate having within the organization. Second, write how you plan to resolve the disputes. Third, write about how you want people to feel after a dispute is resolved. If you have a co-Founder or plan to have a co-Founder, write a third paragraph on how you will resolve co-Founder disputes and how a co-Founder may be removed from the company without killing the business. (1 Hour)

#14 (Weekly Update)

Provide an update on your weekly business progress. Copy the previous Weekly Update and mark all items that have been completed or Asks that have been fulfilled as “(DONE).” Mark anything that has not been completed or fulfilled as “(UNDERWAY),” and provide a one sentence update on their status. Add a few more bulleted items to be completed across Team, Product, Traction and Program for the coming week. Send information from your Weekly Updates and Asks to key Stakeholders per your Stakeholder Mailings Business Calendar. (1 Hour)

#15 (Hotseat Pitch)

Update your one minute without slides and 3 to 5 with slides Hotseat Pitches with any learning and new materials this week, progress from the Weekly Update, and the latest Asks. Video yourself giving your best Hotseat pitch, and upload the video online as unlisted and accessible. Paste the link to the unlisted video in the assignment here and also paste the link in the field on your homepage under Weekly Pitch. (30 Minutes)

(Optional – Founding Round set up)

Reach out to your Funding Target List. Write the template for and send a very brief Outreach Email to everyone on your Funding Target List and ask them to get on a call about your new business, and provide a copy of the template. In the Outreach Email, propose a couple of call times over the next few days. Set up the Initial Call with the Funding Target, and briefly discuss what you are doing and why you are passionate about the business and the project. Do not ask for investment on the Initial Call. Set up a time to virtually meet the Funding Target. If any Funding Target expresses concern about the business or does not clearly articulate interest in the business during the Initial Call, then replace that individual on your Target List with another individual. Always maintain at least 10 interested people on the Target List. Provide an ordered version of your Funding Target List, ranked by your assessment of who is most likely to provide you with capital, and write one sentence on each individual that describes why they will invest in you and in the business. You will ask the Funding Target for investment in the Follow-up Meeting, which is covered in the next assignment. (6 Hours)

Links

Reading

• My Lessons from Interviewing 400+ Engineers Over Three StartupsEngineering leader Marco Rogers (Lever, Yammer, Clover Health) debunks some of the most common recruiting tropes and walks through his four top interviewing practices for startups.
• How to Configure Your Startup TeamA comprehensive post from Mark Suster, VC and author of Both Sides of the Table.
• TopgradingTopgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People by Bradford D. Smart on Amazon.com. Great companies don’t just depend on strategies—they depend on people.
• Serious Hiring Mistakes and How to Fix ThemThe 10 Most Serious Hiring Mistakes and How to Fix Them by Brad Smart
• How to Build a Strong Startup Team (Video)A top rated Founder Institute video from Joe Abraham, Founder & CEO of BOSI Global.
• Guide to Finding a Technical Co-FounderA tactical guide to finding a technical co-founder.
• Template Founders’ AgreementThis post includes a list of things to consider, and a template agreement.
• Slides: Fees breakdown: a US Corporation costs $7,500 per year just to operateAn active US-Corporation has a number of associated costs you might or might not be familiar with. Whether you are a US company or a foreign startup looking to incorporate in the US for billing/investment purposes, you should be prepared for these corporation costs that are going to take a hit in your company.
• Guide to Stock Options for U.S. CompaniesU.S. Stock options, RSUs, taxes — a guide for humans

Required

• How to Split Equity with Co-Founders (template)A simple template from Founder Institute Graduate Al Bsharah.
• 50 Ways to Find Co-foundersHere are 50 ways to try to find the right co-founder, from events, your network, and more.
• How to Create the Perfect Cofounder Agreement with Your Business PartnerHow to determine alignment of vision, assign roles, and get a deal done.

Resources

• CoggleCoggle is a shared workspace to help your team work more effectively together.
• Workable – Online Recruitment SoftwareWorkable’s online recruitment software goes beyond applicant tracking and posting jobs. It’s hiring software that improves the recruiting process and helps build a talent pool.
• InvstorOver 300,000 startups have used Invstor.com to connect with millions of dollars in funding. Join today and connect with over 20,000+ investors.
• GlassdoorGlassdoor helps you find reviews, salaries and benefits from employees. Interview questions from candidates. Millions of jobs.
• FounderDatingFounderDating is a network of talented entrepreneurs helping one another start and grow companies. All too often you know people with similar backgrounds and skills sets to your own. With FounderDating you find world-class people with complimentary skill-sets, expert areas and knowledge.
• A Listing of Salaries (2016)This spreadsheet was filled in anonymously by a lot of people to self-report their salaries.
• CoFoundersLabJoin the largest community of more than 40,000 founders, advisers, and interns to help launch or grow your business.
• Meetup.comFind Meetups and meet people in your local community who share your interests.

Submitted

• Software de RH e Gestão Comportamental – TESTE GRÁTIS!Software RH completo para Gestão de Pessoas e Mapeamento Comportamental.
• [Operations] Trainual – Disseminate information and train your teamSign up for Trainual today and start documenting what you do so you can delegate tasks and grow faster. Pick the perfect plan for your business.
• Hiring & onboarding dec19_ magued mahmoudHiring & On-boarding by Magued Mahmoud
• (Spanish) Slides: Pv Capacitacion Elevator PitchCapacitación para realizar un elevator pitch (en español)
• Growth Guide: How to Set Up, Staff and Scale a Growth Program“Growth hacks” can be extremely helpful in driving viral growth early in a product’s path to product market fit. However, sustaining long-term growth and reaching hundreds of millions of users requires a scientific approach to growth. In fact, growth experts resoundingly say that “growth hacking” is
• Slides: Team & Advisor – Michael Lantz | Entrepreneurship
• Slides: Team & Advisor – Kristian Hansson
• FlexiSpotBuy one get one standing desk free for your cofounder.
• Atlassian Team Playbook – Team Building Activities that WorkForget trust falls and ropes courses. These are activities for building your team’s Get $#!τ Done muscle and working better together.