The First Five: How Slack Hired Its Initial Sales Team

In this episode, James Sherrett narrates the story of how Slack hired its first five salespeople. He outlines the challenges of hiring salespeople without prior experience, the development of a candidate evaluation process inspired by Daniel Kahneman's work, and the creation of effective job descriptions. He also details a 5-step hiring process including writing assignments, presentations, interviews, and reference checks. Sherrett shares insights into the traits they looked for in candidates and the success of the hires, emphasizing their impact on Slack's growth. Finally, he reflects on the achievements and career advancements of these 5 foundational team members.

00:00 Introduction: The Slack Hiring Journey

00:21 Facing the Challenge: Hiring Salespeople

00:53 Creating an Evaluation Process

01:46 Inspired by Kahneman: Faceted Evaluation

03:28 Crafting the Perfect Job Description

06:19 The Application Process: Writing Assignments

10:48 Evaluating Written Assignments

13:54 Sales Presentations: Zoom Demos

15:46 In-Person Interviews: The Final Step

22:46 The First Five Hires

26:34 Conclusion: Reflecting on the Journey

27:19 Next Up: Selling to Enterprises

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