Startup Hiring Advice from Lever CEO Sarah Nahm with Holly Liu

Nahm says founding a company was a gradual process, not a sudden decision. After leaving Google to explore new experiences, she worked with early-stage teams and spent time finding the right co-founders. She says belief in the people and in a changing world mattered more at first than having a finished idea.

Nahm advises startups to make hiring a priority and proactively contact candidates through networks, LinkedIn, meetups, Eventbrite, and GitHub. She says 81% of Lever’s engineering team was proactively sourced, and people hired after the company had nurtured relationships were hired 35% faster. Lever also replaced task-based job descriptions with impact goals for the first, third, sixth, and twelfth months.

Nahm recommends asking candidates what has mattered in their past roles, what they want more of, and what they hope to do next, then listening for specific, self-aware answers. Lever calls the first hiring stage Motivation Fit, including whether a candidate is ready for startup ambiguity. Its career trajectory interview walks through a person’s work history to identify patterns of growth and success.

Nahm says inclusive hiring depends on preparing the culture so new hires can succeed, not only on changing demographics. At Lever, a Slack bot rotated dish duty after employees noticed the work fell unevenly, and team feedback led the company to reconsider which holidays it recognized. Onboarding, employee resource groups, and manager coaching also give employees ways to shape policies and raise concerns.

Nahm tells early-stage founders that culture is shaped by who they hire, fire, recognize, promote, and reward. She argues that building a strong team helps a company handle its many competing demands. Her advice is to make recruiting a central part of the founder role.