3 things founders look for when hiring

We speak to startup founders day in, day out.  

This window into their mindset has given us some interesting insights on the types of people they look for when hiring.  

So, we want to share these nuggets with candidates looking to move into an impactful role.  

In this blog post, we speak to founders of tech for good startups to find out: 

🔎 What are the 3 most important things they look for when hiring? 

✨ What will help you stand out as a candidate? 

💜 What makes working with an impact startup so rewarding? 

So, without further ado, here are 3 most important things founders look for when hiring 

1. Value alignment is everything  

One of, if not the most, important things that tech for good startup founders are looking for is strong value alignment. They’re looking for people who want to use their talents to help them make a positive impact on the planet.  

As Sanjay Lobo MBE, Founder of onHand, puts it,

“Without question, it’s the number one thing why people join onHand and stay. It’s to have that level of impact That becomes a really key focus for us to have that principled ‘I’m here for a reason’ feeling.” 

They want to see a real passion for the impact area they operate in. According to Adnan Ebrahim, Founder and CEO of MindLabs, 

“one of the big things we always like to find out is how much affinity they have to the space. And most of the time we find out someone that is interested in working for MindLabs has a reason as to why the mental health space is relevant to them. 

And that is really nice because what it does is it means that there’s a passion for them – they might not be passionate about ‘mental health,’ but there’s a reason as to why they want to create a product that will change the world.”  

Sanjay explains a few of the reasons why this value alignment is so important to founders,

" We're helping communities that wouldn't actually get that help otherwise. And if we hire people that want to be having that kind of impact it's exponential.

It's not just 'we do the job and that's great' - they care so much, they'll have 10x ideas on how else we can do it or how much easier we can make that for volunteers or the folks we help."

2. Appreciation for startup life 

If you haven’t worked in a startup before, do your research on what it’s actually like. It can be a whole different ball game working in a scrappy startup environment, so it’s important to find out as much as possible to get a feel on whether it’s going to be the right move for you.  

Here’s what Sanjay has to say about having startup experience:  

“There’s a whole bunch of other traits that come with working at a startup. 

 Understanding where we are, the growth that we’re going on, the imperfectness of being in a startup with the excitement that goes with that. 

Are you really up for being in the startup world?” 

3. The right skillset and expertise

While value alignment takes the top spot, founders will still be digging into your previous experience to get a good grasp of what skills you’ll be bringing to the table.  

As Michal Nachmany, Founder & CEO of Climate Policy Radar, explains, 

“The greatest challenge is building a team that can deliver and can innovate and can move together to do something that I have in my head – and I’ve had in my head for a long time.”  

Being able to understand someone’s vision and utilise your skills to make it a reality is key. It’s important that your skillset aligns with their needs, whether that’s the tech stack they use or tools you have experience with.  

Adnan agrees, saying, “we wanted to make sure we were bringing in people that had some kind of expertise that we want to initially tap into, but also people that were thinking about the space in a smart way.” 

Being able to understand someone’s vision and utilise your skills to make it a reality is key. It’s important that your skillset aligns with their needs, whether that’s the tech stack they use or tools you have experience with.  

Adnan agrees, saying, “we wanted to make sure we were bringing in people that had some kind of expertise that we want to initially tap into, but also people that were thinking about the space in a smart way.” 

So, how do you stand out to founders?  

Be selective  

• If you want to work at a tech for good or impact startup, apply for roles in impact areas that you’re truly passionate about.  

• Make sure you’re following your favourite companies and connect with the founders and hiring managers (LinkedIn is a great place to make those connections). 

Research what startup life is like 

• Nothing beats working in a startup, but at the least do some reading and research on what it's like to work in a startup, it's not for everyone 

Keep building your skills  

• Startups value people with a broad set of skills and a product or user-centric mindset. 

• Focus on developing skills and ways of working that lend themselves to startup product development. 

What makes working with an impact startup so rewarding? 

 What’s become clear to us is that not only are these companies on a mission to make a positive impact on the planet, but they also tend to treat their teams extremely well. Michal sums it up well, saying: 

“You can’t work on climate and then not do good people policies.” 

If you’re looking to land a role in an impactful organisation, head over to Jobs For Good. Our sister site currently has over 1,200 live jobs waiting for mission-driven candidates! 

If you like the videos in our blog post, check out Craig Turner’s podcast, Founders For Good.