How to select the first batch of employees of a start-up enterprise?

Lead: Generally speaking, employees who are willing to enter a start-up are not typically "business people". They tend to be dreamers and idealists, and almost all have artistic interests. The 3 qualities that I value most when I recruit.

It is clear to all that startups generally attach great importance to the first round of hiring, which is often referred to as the "first wave", and of course I would prefer to call them the company's "SEAL Team". This group of employees is the person who will be around you for a long time, the person you are going to be entrusted with, and the people you need to summon and rely on in all situations.

Before I know what kind of employee should be recruited in the first batch of startups, I think the most important thing is to understand the definition of "entrepreneurial enterprise" first, and then to understand the psychology of the people who will be attracted by this kind of economic entity.

"Entrepreneurial enterprise" is just a general term, so we need to refine the word first: the term refers to start-ups, with little or no income, a small number of employees, a founder or other co-founder or employee; they usually do not have an actual office location.

From my experience, I find that people who are willing to join such businesses are not typically "business people". (digression: Remember, these are general impressions, but they don't always apply.) They are often dreamers or idealists; they have almost all artistic interests. I think they're the kind of people who like to join the opposition, or the new church, the new club.

In my business, these people are usually college students or people who are waiting for graduate school, but they may also be scientists, engineers, or artists. Inevitably, I can give them a low salary, the company's vision and mission for them than the compensation is more important. This is not to say that they are too naïve, but they are driven by something other than money. In many ways, they often reflect the mindset of the entrepreneur. In the words of Tolkien (Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings), they are Tuke (Took), not Baggins (Baggins), who are seeking adventure. For this reason, the best entrepreneurs must have a strong desire and a sense of purpose to communicate with their first group of employees.

Here's a list of some of the common features of my navy Seals over the years and the qualities I look for when I hire the first batch of employees. But keep in mind that these are my personal preferences, not necessarily universal:

1. I have found that the best start-up "seals" are powerful multitasking and "overconfident" people. I like the art of literature because, in general, I believe that people in this professional environment can learn to think in a non-linear way. In many ways, you need your "seals" to exceed the expectations of themselves and those around them. In order to be successful in the early stages of a business, you need people in your team who are not afraid to do something special, and you need people who are "overconfident": they don't know (or at least cannot realize) that there is a so-called "my limitations".

2. I am looking for someone who can work very hard for one thing in their life. Maybe they're good at it, maybe they're not good at it, but it's not particularly important to me. Instead, the people I'm looking for are the things they really love for a long time. In my opinion, passion is a property of learning. When I was playing football as a young man, I was very enthusiastic about it for a long time (though, I missed the chance to pick up a 40-yard sprint in 4.9 seconds) from the University of Alabama. I think such people can learn a lot from the extraordinary promises and visions of a company, and these experiences are invaluable when working in a company that is trying to take off.

3. The person I am looking for is very realistic, practical, but clear-headed. This is a difficult problem to quantify, which is hard to measure by looking at resumes or past experience. I am mainly looking for people who are not afraid to express their opinions. In almost every aspect of your company, whether it's an operation or an overall strategy, your Navy Seals have a vital and essential role to play. You need them to be smart and proactive, willing to be free to express opinions and not afraid to disagree with you. In this sense, people who only say "yes" are not the best of the first batch of employees.

Very interestingly, my ideal "SEAL Team" may be the ones that many "normal" people think "abnormal". Trained business people often try to use a fixed structure to analyze future employees; I believe that by doing this you may miss the types of people I describe, and they are essential to the development of startups. Over the past 20 years, since entrepreneurship has become a mainstream phenomenon, more MBAs are starting to start their own businesses. But I really doubt how the principles of recruitment that have been learned in the MBA program will be applied to a start-up. I doubt whether these strategies will be particularly effective. This is not to say that you should use "abnormal" as the standard for the first batch of employees. However, I will certainly look for idealistic, passionate people as my "seals", and I will see this passion and non-linear thinking way more important than the traditional quality of traditional recruitment.