The Early Team Playbook:
Hire for Impact, Not Volume
5 hiring tactics, 3 knockout interview questions, and a final gut-check to build A-player teams fast.
What you’ll learn inside
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Flip the switch: CEO-first loop: Run the first screen yourself to kill bad fits fast, sell the vision early, and compress the hiring timeline.
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Move on A+ candidates—fast: Why high-conviction + speed wins offers, keeps momentum, and signals a decisive culture.
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Back-channel like a champ: How to DM past peers, managers, and reports to get the truth you won’t hear in references.
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No project, no offer: A 3–5 hour assignment that reveals taste, execution, communication, and ability to follow a brief.
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Generalists vs. specialists: Hire Swiss-army generalists early (employees 1–15); add deep specialists once needs are repeatable.
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3 questions that expose the truth: Desire (“How did you prep?”), Resilience (personal challenge), and Curiosity (what you nerd out on).
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The final gut-check + red flags: Use the “Would I proudly vouch for them company-wide?” rep test—then avoid the 10 classic red flags (flakes, title chasers, no questions, dodging the assignment, and more).
Translated into startup-ready frameworks by Jordan DiPietro, 2x former CEO & growth exec ($0 → $10M scale).
👉 Hire for Impact, Not Volume
Get the free playbook: 5 hiring tactics, 3 interview questions, and 10 red flags from 100+ hires across The Motley Fool, The Hustle, HubSpot & Hampton.