Building an Engineering Team

Harj frames hiring as sourcing, screening, and closing, then recommends starting with personal networks. Make an exhaustive list of engineers you know, ask them to join, and ask for referrals if they decline. As the team grows, hold sourcing sessions where everyone lists potential candidates.

Ammon compares marketplaces, LinkedIn and GitHub outreach, job boards, and meetups. He recommends personalized messages over high-volume cold outreach, and distinctive job descriptions that explain the founder’s story and the work. Harj advises making the first engineering hire yourself; consider recruiting help when hiring about one engineer a month for six months or spending over half your time sourcing.

Ammon says Triplebyte’s interview data showed low interviewer agreement, just over 0.1 on a zero-to-one scale. He recommends deciding which skills matter, using consistent questions and defined scoring criteria, and keeping credentials out of technical assessments. Multi-step questions, several questions per session, and attention to false negatives can improve the signal.

Small teams can use a simple written guide to structure interviews, even when they cannot repeat the same questions for many candidates. When sourcing is difficult, Ammon recommends screening fewer people out before the onsite. For the earliest hires, he says productivity and ownership may matter more than polished code.

Harj recommends moving quickly, giving candidates a considerate interview experience, and describing company culture with specific trade-offs. Bring teammates and relevant investors into follow-up conversations, and present full compensation details, including salary and equity. To compete with large companies, Ammon suggests discussing responsibility, learning, growth, the distinct opportunity, and mentorship where the team can provide it.