How ‘try before you buy’ can help you make better hiring decisions

In an excerpt from her new book, a Harvard lecturer offers tips on making better hires.

Getting the hiring process right is one of the most critical and challenging aspects of building a startup. Early hires shape your company’s culture, operational efficiency, and future growth, yet many founders face this task without prior hiring experience or a clear sense of what their evolving business truly needs. Without being thoughtful about hiring—from crafting compelling job descriptions to setting consistent compensation and onboarding practices—startups risk bringing in team members who are misaligned with the company’s needs or culture, creating friction and slowing momentum. Over the course of my three decades as a startup operator, executive coach and educator of entrepreneurs, I’ve observed that investing the time upfront to build strong hiring practices not only helps attract the right talent but also lays a foundation for a healthy, scalable organization.