451 Posts found for Source: First Round Review

This content is restricted to site members. Please log in or register

The single most important thing a boss can do is focus on guidance: giving it, receiving it, and encouraging it. Guidance, which is fundamentally just praise and criticism, is usually called “feedback,” but feedback is screechy and makes us want to put our hands over our ears. Guidance is something most of us long for.

Content: Quotation | Author: Kim Scott | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management

Kristen Hamilton, co-founder and CEO of Koru, has determined that seven characteristics, taken together, best translate into someone killing it at their job. These traits transcend department or career stage, and they apply to entry-level engineers and marketing executives alike. Each of these seven traits is important for just about every hire. As you use them, though, you may find that you weigh them differently … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Kristen Hamilton | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Hiring, Human Resources

First Round has learned plenty about what makes mentorship work — and what causes it to go sideways and has previously shared some of the lessons covering common concerns for mentors and mentees. Yet the question we’re asked most frequently these days is simple and earnest: How can I be a better mentor?

For us, this inquiry speaks to an eagerness to give … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Career, Human Resources, Personal Development

Nikhyl Singhal advises folks at every end of the startup spectrum, from scrappy early-stage founders to heads of product at some of the biggest unicorns. Founders and product leaders at companies big and small bring him their toughest questions: When should founders hand over the product controls? What should you look for in a PM? How do you structure the team? How do you balance … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Nikhyl Singhal | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Entrepreneurship, Management

When it comes to communications, founders are often laser-focused on the outward-facing victories, like securing a splashy podcast spot or landing the coveted cover story. But while earning external press helps to add a coat of polish to your brand, it’s the day-to-day work of internal comms that keeps the engine running.

While putting intention and dedicated effort into communicating with your employees may seem … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management

By now, it’s clear to most that 1:1 meetings matter. The pro-tip of setting up a dedicated weekly checkpoint is on virtually every list of best practices for managers these days.

Carving out a corner on your calendar for surfacing issues, nurturing that incredibly important employee-manager relationship, and sharing feedback more consistently is undeniably important. For managers in particular, it’s a chance to maintain a pulse … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management

Storytelling isn’t just the domain of content creators, marketers or PR pros. The ability to tell stories that inform, persuade or inspire supercharges every part of company building. Stories aren’t just for external audiences, either. It’s the tool that everyone — leaders especially — should be constantly sharpening. To help you tell stories that cut through the noise, we’ve rounded up the Review’s six best … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Personal Development

Gloria Lin has gone on a lot of dates in the past year. No, not that kind. We’re talking about co-founder dating. As the next generation of company builders takes shape and new founder mafias spin out of places like Stripe, it stands to reason that more co-founder stories won’t fit the traditional mold, and will instead look a lot more like Lin’s.

Lin’s process is … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Gloria Lin | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Entrepreneurship

Whether the entire product itself is a platform devoted to bringing folks together or community efforts provide an outlet for bonding over mutual love of a product, it seems as though more and more startups are getting into the community building game these days.

But “community” itself is still a rather fuzzy concept. It’s a murky and almost mystical world where connection is currency and authenticity … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Bailey Richardson | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Customer Related

High-stakes decisions are seldom clearly cut. On a team, it’s difficult to get consensus on what the “best” option even means; with an excess of choices, leaders can fall into the paralysis of indecision, wasting precious time and opportunities. How do you make a choice that optimizes for both speed and sagacity? Should you place more weight on data, or go with your gut? How … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Decision Making, Management

Onboarding is so much more than the standard-issue IT set-up and friendly pointers for working the coffee machine. To help break down the essential ingredients of an excellent onboarding process, we gathered perspectives on onboarding from the Review’s most seasoned operators to help you maximize the impact of those decisive first interactions.

Their tactical advice spans a template for the ideal Day One timeline, to how … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Human Resources

Given the high-stakes nature of every hire, interviewing chops are always in need of sharpening. And that means our hunt for a crazy-good interview question is never over. We’re endlessly fascinated by the go-to inquiry in everyone’s back pocket, the kind that makes you want to steal it for your own hiring toolkit. To that end, we’ve spent the past few months reaching out to … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subject: Human Resources

While plans are projected in months, we know the true progress happens by the week, day and hour — where all the distraction traps are laid and it’s easier to lose your way. It’s on those time horizons where competing priorities clamor for our limited time, and finding focus becomes all the more vital, despite the stumbling blocks that stand in our way. When we … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Personal Development, Productivity / Work Tips

[Sean] Ellis [has] found a leading [product/market fit] indicator: just ask users “how would you feel if you could no longer use the product?” and measure the percent who answer “very disappointed.” After benchmarking nearly a hundred startups with his customer development survey, Ellis found that the magic number was 40%. Companies that struggled to find growth almost always had less than 40% of users … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Rahul Vohra | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Customer Related, Innovation, Management

To increase your product/market fit […] spend half your time doubling down on what users already love and the other half on addressing what’s holding others back.

Content: Quotation | Author: Rahul Vohra | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Customer Related, Innovation, Management

Compensation is culture, period. It’s how you pay your people and it’s where the rubber hits the road. It’s the metric you can’t cheat. It’s naive to think that you’re just going to give people money and they’re not going to feel everything that’s attached to it. Pay is incredibly personal and emotionally charged. It directly affects how we live our lives and how we … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Bethanye McKinney Blount | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Compensation, Culture, Human Resources, Organizational Behavior

When you start talking about pay transparency, the first thing everyone thinks is “I’m going to know how much everybody makes.” I think a better way to frame it is “I’m going to understand why I’m paid what I’m paid and how I can increase my comp.” It’s about making sure employees understand their current reality and see a career development path in front of … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Bethanye McKinney Blount | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Compensation, Human Resources

Your challenge is to create product experiences for two different mindsets, one for your potential customers and one for your engaged customers. Initially, if you want your prospective customers to engage, think of them as lazy, vain, and selfish. Then for the customers who survive the first 30 seconds and actually come through the door, build a meaningful experience and relationship that lasts a lifetime. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Scott Belsky | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Customer Related, Innovation, Market Research

Whether you’re building a product, creating art, or writing a book, you need to remember that your customers or patrons make sweeping judgments in their first experience interacting with your creation – especially in the first thirty seconds. I call this the “first mile,” and it is the most critical yet underserved part of a product. […] In a world of moving fast and pushing … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Scott Belsky | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Customer Related, Innovation, Marketing / Sales