Hiring Made Human: Hiring When You’re a Start-Up

The challenges of hiring for a startup have become more pronounced these days than ever. With technological advancements and evolving market demands, startups must be agile and strategic in their hiring practices to ensure success. According to some studies, nearly 90 percent of startups fail, with a significant factor being the inability to attract and retain top talent. 

How do startups effectively hire the right people to thrive? How can startups navigate the complex hiring landscape to find the talent they need to succeed?

For a new episode of Apple One, a podcast by The ActOne Group, host Brett Howroyd kicks off an episode as part of the “Hiring Made Human” series, where he explores the intricacies of hiring practices, particularly within startup companies. He was joined by Jasmine Nachtigall-Fournier and Matthew Fournier, co-founders of GovInvest. Together, they share their experiences and strategies for hiring the right talent in a startup environment.

Some of their main points discussed in their interview included:

• The differences in specialized and general hiring approaches, and Jasmine and Matthew discuss the different methods used to hire specialized roles like actuaries versus more general roles such as account executives.
• Emphasis on the need for new hires to not only have the right skills, but also to align with the company’s vision and culture.
• Unique challenges of hiring while bootstrapping a company, particularly for hardware-intensive projects like Puppy Wash.

Jasmine Natchigill-Fournier is the co-founder and president of GovInvest. She was nominated for the LA Times Inspirational Women Awards in 2022 and 2023 and recently inducted into Who’s Who of America. Natchigill-Fournier holds a degree from Stanford University and has been instrumental in driving GovInvest’s mission to help governments solve fiscal challenges.

Matthew Fournier is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of GovInvest and Puppy Wash. He played a key role in the early stages of OpenGov, which later became a successful unicorn company. Fournier’s diverse background includes extensive experience in government data and technology.

Article by Alexandra Simon.