All 12 HR & Talent posts we have indexed from venture capital blogs and newsletters, plus the highest-scoring pieces of the past year and the people who write about it most.
A practical framework for early-stage founders to build a compensation philosophy using market datasets, percentile bands, and leveling systems—with guidance on when to flex philosophy for critical hires and how to avoid pay compression.
Identify and retain "Irreplaceables"—employees you'd rehire sight-unseen into any role—by recognizing their judgment and ownership, protecting them from reorg casualties, and inventing roles to keep them engaged rather than lose them to outside searches.
Ted Wang reconceptualizes "executive presence" as a learnable set of four skills—communication, emotional intelligence, presence, and adaptability—and shares a 20-week open-source curriculum to help leaders and founders develop them, arguing these human-centric skills will become more valuable as AI commoditizes technical work.
How should companies evolve hiring processes in an AI era? Asana's Head of Revenue Strategy shares a framework: define core traits (curiosity, grit, GM mindset, resourcefulness, business acumen), use live working prompts instead of stories, and screen for intellect and accountability—not AI fluency itself.
PLG companies must layer enterprise sales carefully: hire "glass eater" hunters who can multi-thread accounts and convert existing usage into contracts, rather than polished deal-managers. Keep self-serve untouched while using product data to identify underpenetrated accounts.
Adam Ward, Head of Talent at Cursor, shares a three-step playbook (scoping, mapping, relentless pursuit) for building high-talent-density teams, critiquing traditional recruiting funnels and offering actionable hiring frameworks for founders and leaders.
AI coding tools have erased the execution gap that justified paying premiums for 2–4 years of experience. Founders should now hire new grads for their growth trajectory (slope), not as a discount option—but only if they commit to serious mentorship and structured 90-day onboarding that builds real ownership.
A comprehensive essay on navigating career pivots strategically, managing risk, diligencing culture, and leveraging relationships and unfair advantages—grounded in the author's own mid-career transitions across government, consulting, and venture.
Lenny's Newsletter (3) · Sammy Abdullah (2) · Stage 2 (2) · Turner Novak (1) · Building Rome(s) (1) · Ted Wang (1) · Madrona Ventures (1) · Harlem Capital (1) · Saastr (1) · Insight Partners (1)
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