Standing in the Fire

5: Tech Wins & Hiring Woes: How to Communicate, Celebrate, and Find the Right People

Listen Later

Celebrating tech wins in a way that resonates with customers can be tricky—so how should SaaS companies do it? John, Kris, and Garrett break down how they approach communicating improvements, from backend optimizations to feature rollouts. They debate whether customers care about upgrades like Rails 6 and share ideas on writing updates that connect with both technical and non-technical users.

The conversation then shifts to hiring—how to evaluate developers, why trade-offs are crucial in the interview process, and the unique challenges of hiring remote vs. local talent. John shares insights from his GitHub hiring experience, Kris talks about building teams for different projects, and Garrett explores the psychology behind finding people who truly align with company culture.

The episode wraps up with wins of the week, including major Fireside updates, basketball coaching victories, and a heated discussion about Notre Dame football.

Key Quotes

"If you don't celebrate, it can feel like nothing is happening—even when big things are."

"Customers don't care about Rails upgrades, they care about how fast and smooth their experience is."
"Hiring is as much about culture fit as it is about technical ability."

Takeaways
  • Celebrating tech wins authentically is crucial for customer engagement.
  • Customers care more about stability and bug fixes than technical upgrades.
  • Effective communication of tech improvements can enhance customer trust.
  • Hiring processes differ significantly between startups and larger companies.
  • Cultural fit is essential when hiring, especially in remote teams.
  • Technical evaluations should focus on problem-solving and trade-offs.
  • Building a positive company culture requires intentional effort and understanding.
  • Non-technical founders can benefit from involving technical friends in hiring.
  • Celebrating small wins can boost team morale and motivation.
  • Understanding employee motivations is key to fostering a supportive work environment.

    • Links:

    • Fireside.fm
    • Riverside.fm
    • Ruby on Rails
    • Postgresql
    • Redis
    • This Episode on Youtube
    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    Standing in the FireBy Very Good Software