How to find the right online communities

The user experience in the big, ungated social networks is getting steadily worse: spam, bots, fake news. There are three main solutions: technology (i.e., anti-bot tools, but that’s an endless battle); gating; and/or curation/moderation. One result: I think we’ll see people spending more and more time in gated online communities. Particularly in a time of...

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How to negotiate and evaluate your job offer

“The board has met and we’d like to extend you an offer to join the company.  We’ll send you all the details via email. We are excited to have you join us!” If you get that phone call, what should you be thinking about? I compiled the best resources I found here.  This is relevant...

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Are you hiring a cultural fit? Do you actually want to?

Who should you hire: the superstar with great skills who feels like a poor fit with the culture, or the person with weaker skills but who fits in culturally?  Even though I believe in hiring the stranger, cultural fit really matters. I once had an interview set up with a candidate who looked strong on...

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A family-friendly work environment is a powerful recruiting and retention tool

My wife and I have a lot of conversations about work-life balance, or as I usually think of it, making sure I don’t use up too many “spouse points”.  Many early-stage companies do not have these issues top of mind, because so many founders are pre-children. However, even people without children often end up having...

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Ready to join a new management team? Here’s how to do your due diligence first

I get emails every week from mid-level and senior executives who want to join a growth company. You’re going to be spending 40+ hours/week with your new colleagues, which is more time than most of us spend with our spouses. So I put together some notes on how to due diligence a management team, from...

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How To Hire An Outsourced Web Designer And Survive The Process

Last week I interviewed Kyle Stalzer, CEO of a portfolio company, about an issue that’s top of mind for a lot of our companies: How to Recruit an A-Quality Designer for Your Company.  This week, I’ll discuss the second-choice alternative: how to hire an outsourced designer for your company. It’s become a truism of the...

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