Author: paytondannewitz_19hcpp

Chapter 10 of The Founder’s Dilemmas made me think about something that is easy to overlook when starting a business: the person who starts the company may not always be the person who should run it forever. When a business is small, the founder is usually involved in almost everything. They may be making the…

Chapter 9 of The Founder’s Dilemmas made me think about how complicated the decision to take outside investment can be. At first, it seems pretty simple. A business needs money to grow, an investor has money, and the investor provides it. But the chapter shows that the decision is much bigger than just getting access…

One thing I really liked about the conclusion of How to Hire A-Players was the reminder that finding good employees is only half of the problem. Once you find an A-player, you have to give them a reason to stay. Herrenkohl (2010) points out that A-players have more career options than weaker performers, which means…

Something that stood out to me in Chapter 8 of The Founder’s Dilemmas was how much a company’s hiring needs can change as it grows. When a business is first getting started, it makes sense to hire people who can do a little bit of everything. There usually is not enough money or work to…

When I think about hiring, it is easy to picture the traditional process: a position opens, a job gets posted, resumes come in, and the person with the most obvious qualifications gets an interview. But what if the best person for the job is not looking for that exact job? What if they are coming…

Starting a business often means wearing a lot of different hats. A founder may be the person with the original idea, the person making the big decisions, the person managing employees, and sometimes the person doing tasks that nobody else has time to handle. However, as a business grows, those roles can start to conflict…

When building a team, it can be tempting to surround yourself with people who think like you, communicate like you, and approach problems in similar ways. For a founder, this can feel like the safest option, especially when starting a business and trying to move quickly. However, building a team that is too similar can…

One of the biggest responsibilities a founder has is deciding who will help build the company. It can be easy for founders to focus on the business idea, the product, or getting the first customers and treat hiring as something that comes later. However, the people a founder brings into the business can have a…

When people think about what a founder needs to start a business, money is usually one of the first things that comes to mind. A business needs money to develop its product or service, pay employees, market itself, and survive as it grows. However, financial capital is only one part of what a founder needs.…

When building a team, it can be tempting to surround yourself with people who think like you, communicate like you, and approach problems in similar ways. For a founder, this can feel like the safest option, especially when starting a business and trying to move quickly. However, building a team that is too similar can…