In the 4 years since I started my entrepreneurial journey, I have probably interviewed north of 800 people. Being an integrated digital marketing agency, Gozoop requires a wide spectrum of skills; Account Managers, Designers, Developers, Content Writers, Business Strategists, Online Reputation Managers, Media Planners, etc.
Now, each position demands a widely different set of skills. But as a start up, skills should count for just 20% of your deciding criteria. What you really need to focus on is character.
One major advantage you have as a startup vis a vis established competition, is your ability to quickly pivot to new opportunities. Adaption is the way of life for an early stage startup.
Gozoop started off as web development agency and pivoted to digital marketing when we saw the right opportunity there. Our internal processes transformed as we advanced to international markets of UAE & South East Asia. Our working environment changed as we grew to a team of 51 from a team of 6. Our business model changed as we decided to gradually move from services towards products.
An organization is nothing but a group of individuals. Thus, how fast an organization adapts to opportunities is nothing but a derivative of how fast the individuals adapt to their changing roles and responsibilities.
Some examples of how our internal team pivoted:
- Somesh, who we hired for Business Development in India, now heads Social Media operations in Dubai
- Bansi, who we brought in as a Content writer, now heads are HR team (most of you All know her as our Happiness Officer)
- Paresh, who was hired to help with India Sales, is now our Senior most Account Manager. He also helps on our Singapore operations
- Hrishit, who joined us as a Business Strategist for Decidebuddy, now manages major marketing dollars as part of our Media Buying team
- Kiran, our Web Development Head, volunteered to manage all our Finances over and above his day to day role when we had nobody else to manage it
What enabled us to pivot swiftly is the refined character of the individuals we hired. They showed leadership, they showed the ability to adapt to changing realities and most importantly they displayed a huge spirit of belongingness by putting the company’s success first.
Ask your self the following questions while hiring:
- Can I depend on this person to stand by the company in challenging times?
- Does this person add positively to my work culture?
- Will this person be able to adapt his/her role to changing needs of the business?
- Would I want to spend time with this person on a day to day basis?
If the answer to at least 3 out of the 4 questions is a yes, then you’ve got yourself a fantastic intrepreneur!
Happy team building.