StartUp Hiring is a podcast about what really happens when startups grow, through the people they bring in. Each episode features someone who’s lived it: founders making early hires, operators landing roles, and people building careers inside startups. We dig into what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently. If you're building a team or trying to join one, this is for you.
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Publisher
Simon McSorley. Founder of StartUp Hiring and Crew Talent Advisory.
StartUp Hiring #5 Erica Wass. Bad hires are a 2.5x salary burn.
Erica Wass, former Director of Product at Zendesk, explores the art of building effective product teams and reveals why bad hires can cost startups 2.5x the salary in this interview.
28 May 2025
Daragh Kan - "There's no backup"
Daragh Kan shares his experiences as an early product manager at fast-growing startups, discussing product development under pressure and scaling with founders in this interview.
22 May 2025
StartUp Hiring James Dale - Joined Apple at 17 then sold a StartUp to Snapchat
James Dale shares his experiences from joining Apple at 17 to selling a startup to Snapchat, discussing the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship in an interview.
14 May 2025
StartUp Hiring #15 Ben Mostafa - Engr to CTO in 10 years.
Ben Mostafa discusses his ten-year journey from engineer to CTO at MessageMedia, highlighting the importance of ownership, curiosity, and adaptability for success in a startup environment in this interview.
14 May 2025
StartUp Hiring #15 Paul Perrett. Billion Dollar Exec talks about hiring.
Billion-dollar executive Paul Perrett shares his reflections on the power of hiring the right people and how his approach to leadership has evolved, emphasizing trust and clarity in small teams in this interview.
9 May 2024
StartUp Hiring # 14 Dan Mottau. Better hiring through better leadership
Dan Mottau discusses how strong leadership fosters better hiring practices and builds high-performing teams, emphasizing the importance of self-leadership and creating conditions for success in this interview.
15 Apr 2024
StartUp Hiring #12 Cameron Nott. Understanding people is the key to success.
Cameron Nott, Managing Director at The Myers-Briggs Company, discusses the resurgence of personality profiling in hiring, especially for remote teams, and how it helps mitigate bias and improve understanding, in this interview.
13 Dec 2023
StartUp Hiring #11 Jason Atkins. Demystifying Equity.
Cake Equity Co-Founder and President Jason Atkins demystifies staff equity, covering tax breaks, employee engagement, and implementation for startups in this interview episode.
17 Nov 2023
StartUp Hiring #10. Alana Bennett - New rules for employee experience?
Alana Bennett explores the evolving landscape of employee experience, emphasizing connection intensity and frequency in remote workforces, suggesting strategies like user guides and storytime to foster understanding in this interview.
31 Oct 2023
StartUp Hiring #9 Meqa Smith: Rethinking the way we hire.
Meqa Smith, owner of Unforgettable agency, discusses rethinking hiring processes by focusing on enrolling employees and understanding intrinsic motivation in this interview.
8 Oct 2023
StartUp Hiring #8 Matt Woodard: What is a Talent Strategy?
Matt Woodard of Scalr defines talent strategy and its importance for aligning with business goals, identifying key hires, and understanding market forces in an interview with StartUp Hiring.
14 Jun 2023
StartUp Hiring #7 Adam Beck: Hiring & Interviewing tips for Software Engineers.
Adam Beck shares hiring and interviewing tips for software engineers, discussing positive and negative interview experiences and ways to improve the hiring process for both candidates and companies in this interview.
9 May 2023
StartUp Hiring #6: Matthew Clements. Early Stage Sales team hiring
VP of Growth Matthew Clements shares his extensive experience in B2B and B2C sales, discussing early-stage hiring strategies and general sales insights in this interview.
2 May 2023
StartUp Hiring #5 Catherine Toms. Is recruitment just marketing?
Digital marketing consultant Catherine Toms discusses how recruitment can benefit from marketing strategies by focusing on the potential employee as a customer and building trust through consistent content; this is an interview.
4 Apr 2023
StartUp Hiring #4 Lauren Grimes. Lessons in early stage hiring from an Engineering leader.
Engineering leader Lauren Grimes shares her experiences and insights on early-stage hiring, emphasizing the importance of adaptability, growth mindset, and collaborative decision-making in building a successful team in this interview.
20 Mar 2023
StartUp Hiring #3 Sam Robb. StartUp hiring is challenging but fun.
Sam Robb, a startup hiring veteran, discusses balancing pragmatism with best practices in fast-growth environments, offering insights on coaching new hiring managers and evaluating candidates in this interview.
12 Feb 2023
StartUp Hiring #2. Mitch King - StartUp hiring. The reality
Talent Acquisition Leader Mitch King shares his experiences at Linktree, discussing transparency, changing market perceptions, the reality of startup life, and hiring in competitive markets in this interview.
30 Jan 2023
StartUp Hiring #1 Caitlin Fairchild - Interview advice for fast growth businesses 🚀
Caitlin Fairchild shares her extensive experience in interviewing and hiring for fast-growth businesses, discussing key elements to efficiently define a good fit, in an interview on building a strong team.
Who has been a guest on StartUp Hiring
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Erica Wass
Daragh Kan
James Dale
Ben Mostafa
Paul Perrett
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
6,228
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
62
Social presence
0
YouTube
65
Engagement
0
Contact StartUp Hiring
Guest appearances
Books guests
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