Can You Hire A Co-Founder?

The answer is yes and we did with our recent appointment of Gordon Childs to VP, Engineering.

The concept of hiring a co-founder may seem unintuitive because it’s generally accepted that founders start ventures. For the most part that’s true except for one important distinction which is based on a strongly-held philosophy of LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman: Being a founder or co-founder is a state of mind, not a job description.

This state of mind is an ‘always on’ curiosity and resourcefulness that comes with a built-in desire to constantly learn and solve problems. As Opher and I searched for someone to lead AirShr’s engineering team we knew that the right person needed to be a lot more than just an exceptional engineer. We needed someone with skills to complement those of the team and the co-founder mindset to help lead AirShr through its next phase of growth.

I’m convinced that identifying the right person to hire as a co-founder can’t be done by sifting through resumes, conducting multiple interviews or seeking references. The resume + interview + reference approach takes you only part of the way. The factors that really matter like cultural fit, expertise-in-action and mission commitment can only be experienced. Gordon worked with us on nights (some very late nights) and weekends for almost one year prior to his appointment.

For all intents and purposes this was a paid audition. Gordon was able to demonstrate his substantial skill sets but more importantly we all had a chance to develop an essential co-founder ingredient: Trust.

If you’re an entrepreneur seeking a co-founder (technical or not), avoid rushing to make an appointment. Instead, undertake a paid audition where the expectation for both parties is to do their life’s best work and in doing so determine if you make an awesome team.

We haven’t looked back.