The First Five Hires Of This $10 Billion Business

TL;DR

Tomer London, co-founder and CPO of Gusto, discusses the significance of their first five hires in shaping the company's growth and culture.

Transcript

welcome to the first five where growth stage companies funded by y combinator look back on their first five hires my name is anu hariharan i'm a managing director at y combinator and work with our growth stage companies i'm here with tomer london the co-founder and cpo of gusto which provides growing businesses with everything to take care of their... Read More

Key Insights

• 💻 Building a great user experience with an easy-to-use interface was a crucial factor in the success of Gusto as a business.
• 🔀 Hiring employees with the ability to stretch across multiple disciplines was a fundamental strategy for Gusto's first 50-100 hires, emphasizing the importance of a full-stack mentality.
• 👓 Gusto's first hire was a designer named Davey, chosen for his design skills and compatibility with the company culture.
• 💻 Steven, the second hire, was a software engineer who brought valuable expertise in building software methodologies, like pair programming, which became a crucial practice for the company.
• ✨ Hacker News played a significant role in hiring Gusto's first employees, such as Steven, who stumbled upon a job post on the platform.
• 💼 The third hire was a compliance expert with deep experience in taxes and payroll, filling a critical gap in Gusto's skill set. The company prioritized people over scalability, investing time and effort in finding the right candidates.
• 🏢 Gusto's hiring process focused on creating a great place to work, with inclusive actions like involving the entire company in the offer call and making candidates feel appreciated and loved.
• 🧦 Gusto's unique and fun culture included a tradition of taking off shoes in the office, which started in the company's early days working from a house and has continued to shape the company's identity over the years.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Tomer emphasize the growth mindset when hiring the first 50 to 100 employees?

Tomer and his team prioritized hiring individuals who could stretch across multiple disciplines, even without prior experience, and were willing to learn on the go. The focus was on finding candidates with a growth mindset who could adapt and grow with the company.

Q: How did Tomer convince Steven, a software engineer, to join Gusto despite being located in Minnesota?

Tomer posted a job ad on Hacker News, catching Steven's attention while he was browsing through the site. The mutual interest led to a meeting, where Tomer successfully convinced Steven to join Gusto by highlighting the company's unique culture and the opportunity to work on payroll software in a relaxed environment.

Q: Why did Gusto prioritize hiring someone with deep experience in taxes and payroll for their third hire?

Gusto identified a need for expertise in taxes and payroll to build their compliance function and advise on product decisions. They wanted someone with a deep understanding of the industry to guide the company's growth in those areas.

Q: How did Gusto create a culture of appreciation and camaraderie during the early stages of the company?

Gusto made it a priority to celebrate and appreciate each new hire. When extending an offer, the entire company, including the founders, would join a call to express their excitement and share why they loved working with the candidate. This approach helped create a sense of teamwork and made employees feel valued.

Q: How did Gusto maintain its unique culture of having a "shoes-off" policy even as the company grew beyond its initial office space?

The "shoes-off" policy originated from working in the founders' house, where they had always taken off their shoes. As the company moved into its first office, the founders decided to continue the policy to maintain the feeling of being at home. Today, Gusto provides slipper options for employees and has embraced the culture with branded socks and sock collections for special events and milestones.

Answer: Tomer London, co-founder and CPO of Gusto, discusses the significance of their first five hires in shaping the company's growth and culture. The first hire, Davey, was a designer who contributed to building a great user experience and demonstrated a willingness to stretch across disciplines. The second hire, Steven, was a software engineer who introduced effective methodologies like pair programming. The third hire brought deep experience in taxes and payroll, helping Gusto with compliance, product decisions, and customer care. The company also focused on maintaining a positive company culture, with inclusive hiring practices and a unique "shoes-off" policy.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Tomer London emphasizes the importance of building a great user experience and user-friendly design as a critical factor in the success of their business.

• The second hire, Steven, brought expertise in software engineering and introduced effective methodologies such as pair programming to enhance Gusto's codebase.

• The third hire focused on hiring someone with deep experience in taxes and payroll to handle compliance, product decisions, customer care, and operations.