Executive Hiring Advice from the Founder of Tech’s Top Recruiting Firm
EP 131 of The Logan Bartlett Show: Untold stories from tech's inner circle
The biggest mistakes founders make in executive searches & what to do instead ⬇️
Had Andy Price on the show to break down the master playbook for hiring executives. Andy is the founder of Artisanal Ventures and Artisanal Talent, one of Silicon Valley’s top search firms. He’s helped build leadership teams at companies like Databricks, Snowflake, Confluent, Abnormal Security, AcuityMD, and many more.
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✉️ Episode Memo
Here are Andy’s biggest do’s and don’ts when building an A+ executive team:
➡️ Don’t spend more than 50% of the first recruiting conversation selling
Founders are great at selling the vision, but the first conversation should be about asking 5-6 highly specific questions to see if there could be a fit.
Early conversations should revolve around: What do we need to know about this person? How do we find the information from people we can trust?
➡️ Don't make knee-jerk firing decisions
Founders often get trigger-happy when someone falls short of their hopes. Before replacing, run an internal checklist: how are they hiring, retaining people, and hitting their numbers? What concerns do you have about their ability to scale?
Then, have a thoughtful conversation and make a plan. If someone with a new skillset is needed, keep the original person until the new candidate can glide in smoothly.
➡️ Don’t focus on interviews, do focus on referencing
Andy believes referencing is 80% of the hiring process. Identify 1-2 direct reports and a few peers to understand how they interact with other executives and fit within the leadership team.
In early stages, ask peers: How do they show up in meetings? How do they engage with customers? Over the past year, how many flights did they take? How many customers did they personally touch? Focus on understanding their working dynamic with leadership and other key functions.
➡️ Do: spend lots of time with the candidates you really like
The best way for founders to differentiate themselves in the hiring process is through “soak time.” You won’t get meaningful insights from quick 30-minute meetings.
Push yourself to take up as much mindshare of the candidate as possible.
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