Hiring Guides for Startup Founders

Practical frameworks, templates, and step-by-step guides for founders who want to make great hires, without a recruiter or HR team.

All Guides Interview Questions Job Descriptions Startup Hiring Scorecards

Interviewing

40 Behavioral Interview Questions to Ask Candidates, by Competency

A guide for the interviewer, not the candidate. 40 questions across six competencies, what a strong answer sounds like, and a 1-5 rubric so you can score candidates consistently instead of trusting a gut feeling.

12 min read · May 2026

Sales Hiring

How to Hire Your First Salesperson: A Founder's Playbook

The interview process, the four competencies that predict performance, and the mistakes that make this hire fail. Includes a sales simulation framework you can use next week.

8 min read · Apr 2026

Hiring Framework

12 Reference Check Questions That Actually Reveal the Truth

Most reference calls confirm what you already know. These 12 questions, organised by competency, turn a 20-minute call into your most useful source of evidence before making an offer.

6 min read · Apr 2026

Interview Questions

Structured Interview Questions: 30 Examples by Role (With Sample Answers)

What structured interview questions actually look like in practice, role by role, with strong and weak answer examples so you know what you're evaluating.

9 min read · Mar 2026

Scorecards

5 Interview Scorecard Examples (Free Templates by Role)

Real, ready-to-use interview scorecards for software engineers, marketing managers, SDRs, product managers, and ops hires, with competencies, questions, and scoring criteria.

8 min read · Mar 2026

Interview Questions

40 Interview Questions for Software Engineers (by Level)

Behavioral, technical process, and culture questions for junior, mid, and senior engineers. Organized by competency with scoring notes.

5 min read · Feb 2026

Job Description Template

Marketing Manager Job Description Template (Free, Editable)

A complete, ready-to-post marketing manager JD with mission, responsibilities, requirements, and 30/60/90-day success metrics.

4 min read · Feb 2026

Hiring Framework

How to Evaluate Job Candidates Objectively (Without the Bias)

The evidence-based framework for comparing candidates fairly, from setting criteria before interviews to running structured debriefs.

6 min read · Feb 2026

Checklist

Startup Hiring Checklist: 25 Steps Before You Make an Offer

The complete checklist for every hire, from defining the role to making the offer, avoiding the most common startup hiring mistakes.

7 min read · Feb 2026

Guide

How to Write a Job Description That Actually Attracts the Right People

Why most job descriptions repel good candidates. A section-by-section guide to writing one that works.

5 min read · Feb 2026

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