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Hiring great people is one of the biggest challenges for a startup.

Without a great team you will most likely fail, no matter how great your business plan or how accurate your original business assumptions are. Even with a great team, many startups fail. But with one, your chances of making the right adjustments over time, and therefore building a great business, are much greater.

The people you want on your team aren’t usually looking for a new job.

So how do you find them? For us, the majority of our initial hires have come from our personal or professional networks. This requires a lot of work to spread the word about your company and the team you are building. Make a list of the people you have worked with before that you would love to work with again. Take them to lunch or coffee and see what they are up to. Ask them for referrals to people they would love to work with again. Dedicate time every week to networking and be sure to tell an exciting story about your company. When you find people you like, you will be asking them to leave a good job at a larger more stable company. This is never an easy sell.

The second greatest tool is Craigslist. Why pay recruiters 20-30% of the first years salary when you can get a great pipeline of candidates through postings on Craigslist that cost $25. We try to post every week 1-2 of the jobs openings we are trying to fill.