The first Collision Conference has brought together tech industry leaders to Downtown Las Vegas, including Keith Rabois investor at Khosla Venture and most recently COO at Square. Rabois took the stage and discussed the difficulty entrepreneurs face when it comes to hiring talent, especially when they compete with more established companies.
“The best way to hire people is understanding their long-term vision. Ask them about what motivates them to work,” explained Rabois.
When asked about competing with larger companies like Google, he didn’t seem to be worried.
“If you go to Google you are going to waste your brain. You can choose to sit on the sideline or run the play,” said Rabois. He went on to say that it becomes the CEO’s responsibility to keep employees motivated to stay at a startup.
Two things to scan for during an interview:
- Resourcefulness
- Tenacity
Rabois knows best, given his experience in companies like Square and PayPal. On stage he spoke about his new venture, Homerun, a real estate startup. Not only hiring, but firing an employee can be difficult. Rabois’s advice is straightforward: “Move fast, but it’s our human nature — it’s hard to fire someone. If you ask yourself, should I fire this person? That is already an indicator,” said Rabois.
