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Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong on common startup hiring mistakes
“The mistake that a lot of startups make is that they hire too fast. They treat the absence of any negatives as a reason to hire, whereas it should be not just the absence of negatives, but a hell yes - I learned something from this person or they’re way better than me at something.”
In the early days of Coinbase, Brian actually invited prospective new hires to work with him for a week or two before offering them a job:
“You’ll know within a week or two - this person got a bunch of stuff done that was useful and helped move the ball forward or they didn’t.”
Brian continues:
“That’s basically what makes great companies: you have a bunch of people aligned toward a big, impactful mission who actually get a lot of stuff done every week… If [your team] gets a lot of stuff done towards the mission and they’re aligned, then you’ve got a good company.”