In this episode of Think Like an Owner, we're tackling one of the most critical elements of scaling a business—building a world-class talent engine. Joining me are Jake Dancyger and Cyrus Symoom, co-CEOs of Clariti, who have spent the last five years growing their company from 20 employees to over 120.

We break down the entire talent lifecycle, from sourcing and hiring top performers to coaching, retaining, and structuring career growth for long-term success. They share the hard lessons learned, including early hiring mistakes, the art of title progression, and how they shifted from scrappy startup hiring to a structured, high-performance talent strategy.

We also dive into:

- How to identify rising stars within your company before looking externally.

- The right way to leverage your board to attract top-tier talent.

- Why transparency in compensation and equity is key to long-term retention.

- The "swarm approach" they use to close top candidates with peer and board involvement.

- The biggest interviewing mistakes they've corrected over time.

If you're a CEO or leader looking to build and scale an elite team, this episode is packed with practical takeaways you won't want to miss!

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Learn more about Alex and Think Like an Owner at https://tlaopodcast.com/

Links:

Clariti Software - https://www.claritisoftware.com/

Jake on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakedancyger/

Cyrus on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyrus-symoom-68a90450/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:44) - Introducing Cyrus and Jake

(00:06:25) - Talent development, acquisition, and integration

(00:13:29) - Common objections from talented prospects

(00:17:07)- Role/Title Guidelines and structures

(00:21:06) - Involving boards and investors in recruiting

(00:23:51) - What tends to win talent in 2025?

(00:27:08) - Interview processes

(00:29:42) - Setting outcomes

(00:32:28) - How should CEOs involve themselves in interviewing?

(00:34:46) - Crafting Culture questions

(00:39:42) - Closing on a candidate

(00:43:54) - Comp plans

(00:46:34) - Onboarding and performance measurements

(00:52:14) - Designing career paths

(00:57:18) - Communication styles