Building the team

The founding team will make or break the company. Startups have the superpower of being fast and thinking differently. With the wrong team, you have nothing.

I’ve had the privilege to build my engineering team from scratch. I’ve seen the difference between good and bad hires. The key difference is intrinsic motivation— does this person have the drive to do something simply because they find it interesting or enjoyable?

Why is intrinsic motivation important?
Intrinsic motivation is directly correlated to how fast someone can do their job and learn; the most important qualities of a team member. People who are not intrinsically motivated rely on external factors: rewards and punishments.

As a child, were you rewarded for doing your homework? If you were, I bet you completed it because you wanted the reward. But once your parents stopped rewarding you, did you still do it? I doubt it. Evidence suggests that children who initially enjoyed their homework lost interest in the subject after being rewarded.

This tells us that extrinsic motivation is great for the short term (you quickly do your homework) but devastating for the long term (you lose interest when not rewarded). Therefore, intrinsic motivation is best if you want to do something for the long-term, like a job or a startup. I’m not saying that all rewards are bad, it’s just an issue if you always do something just for the sake of the reward.

"You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation." -Homer Rice

How does one get intrinsic motivation?
Take a moment to ask yourself why you enjoy doing something. Why do you have hobbies if no one rewards you for doing them? Think.

For me, I sometimes really enjoy playing video games in my free time. I like that they challenge me, that’s why I prefer online games with other people. I like that they let me play the game how I want to play it; I get to pick my character. I like that there is a clear mission— to win!

We can distill this into 3 fundamental principles: mastery, autonomy, and purpose.

Mastery: You should want to be the best at what you do and every day, you make progress.

Autonomy: You are free to spread your wings by doing things you want to do and doing them how you want to do them.

Purpose: There is a clear, important reason why you are doing something.

How does this apply to the team?
The team is fully remote, letting them work when and where they want.

I make it clear to the team that they are the lifeblood of the startup— fixing a tiny bug the day it is discovered puts a smile on at least one customer’s face.

I challenge them and push them to try new things to learn.

I give them problems to solve and trust them to choose the best solution.

I try and leave thoughtful feedback on everything they build.

The whole team does the same for each other, creating a beautiful feedback loop. Rejecting any of these fundamental principles leads to a slow and unmotivated team.

How do you find people with intrinsic motivation?
Usually when you talk to a driven person, you can instantly tell from the excitement in their eyes. But before you hop on a call, there are some great ways to filter candidates. Give them a tough problem and tell them to solve it however they want (Here’s one I made a couple of days ago).

Niche problems are great because most candidates haven’t seen them. This a great way to test a candidate’s sense of mastery; do tough problems motivate them? Does it keep them up at night? It’s also a great way to test a candidate’s autonomy; are they able to fully solve a problem with the limited information they have? Countless candidates email me asking multiple clarifying questions before even starting the challenge. I leave feedback on every submission, even if we reject it. Feedback is great for intrinsic motivation and nobody else does this.

Final Thoughts
The key to a successful startup is a driven founding team. Once you build your team, you must foster and channel their motivation to create your unicorn.candidates email me asking multiple clarifying questions before even starting the challenge. I leave feedback on every submission, even if we reject it. Feedback is great for intrinsic motivation and nobody else does this.

Final Thoughts
The key to a successful startup is a driven founding team. Once you build your team, you must foster and channel their motivation to create your unicorn.

Checkout my startup, Bequest.com!