Starting Y

Mitch Gray, author of 'How to Hire and Keep Great People' and a manager of more than 5,000 employees over his career, joins Jörn "Joe" Menninger on Starting Y on making those crucial first hires.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this matters for founders: The first hires make or break an early-stage company. Mitch Gray brings hard experience to the founder's hardest people decisions — who to bring on first and how to get it right.

In this episode, we cover:

• Mitch Gray on making your first key hires
• Lessons from managing more than 5,000 employees
• Who a founder should hire first and why
• Common early hiring mistakes to avoid
• Building the foundation of a team from scratch
• Practical first-hire guidance for founders

Related Starting Y episodes: Hiring strategies with Mitch Gray · How to Mentor Other Entrepreneurs as a Founder

For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm

If your company wants to reach early-stage founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, partner with Startuprad.io.

In his second Starting Y conversation with Jörn "Joe" Menninger, Mitch Gray — author of 'How to Hire and Keep Great People' — goes beyond hiring into the strategies for keeping great people once they're on board.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this matters for founders: Recruiting is only half the battle; retention is where founders quietly win or lose. Mitch Gray lays out the strategies behind building a team that stays and grows with the company.

In this episode, we cover:

• Mitch Gray on strategies to keep great people
• Moving from hiring to long-term retention
• Building a culture people don't want to leave
• The follow-up to his first Starting Y hiring episode
• Lessons from decades of team leadership
• Practical retention guidance for founders

Related Starting Y episodes: How to hire (your first) employees · How to Mentor Other Entrepreneurs as a Founder

For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm

If your company wants to reach early-stage founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, partner with Startuprad.io.

This is the second interview with Mitch on HR topics. In the first episode (which was published just before this one) we talked about hiring people. Now we talk about the strategies behind hiring.

Our Intro is based on Quantum Jazz’s piece “Orbiting a distant planet”, published under Creative Commons

Our Guest:

The Host:

You can suggest questions here, use #startingy

Twitter Michelle: https://twitter.com/salutemichelle

Twitter Jörn: https://twitter.com/JoeMenninger

Or send us a message via Anchor: https://anchor.fm/starting-y

Lizia Santos, Miami-based founder of Citycatt and mother of three active boys, joins Jörn "Joe" Menninger on Starting Y on building a global startup with a worldwide base of local scouts.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this matters for founders: Lizia Santos shows founders that ambitious, global company-building and a full family life aren't mutually exclusive — and how she runs a distributed, worldwide operation from Miami.

In this episode, we cover:

• Lizia Santos on founding and scaling Citycatt
• Building a global startup while raising three sons
• Running a worldwide base of local scouts
• Balancing founder life with family demands
• Lessons on distributed, global operations
• Practical inspiration for founder-parents

Related Starting Y episodes: How to Scale Globally: The Founder Mindset · Meet Luka, a 28-Year-Old Serial Entrepreneur Turned…

For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm

If your company wants to reach early-stage founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, partner with Startuprad.io.

Peter Hart — an entrepreneur in his early 30s already running twelve businesses — takes Jörn "Joe" Menninger on Starting Y through his journey from student to serial multi-business owner.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this matters for founders: Peter Hart's path is a masterclass in founder momentum: how one person goes from a single idea to a portfolio of twelve businesses, and what mindset makes that scale possible.

In this episode, we cover:

• Peter Hart on running twelve businesses in his early 30s
• The journey from student to serial entrepreneur
• How one founder manages a portfolio of businesses
• The mindset behind rapid multi-venture growth
• Lessons on momentum and opportunity-spotting
• Practical takeaways for ambitious young founders

Related Starting Y episodes: Meet Luka, a 28-Year-Old Serial Entrepreneur Turned… · Serial Entrepreneur Jay Moore on Prasaga and why to be…

For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm

If your company wants to reach early-stage founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, partner with Startuprad.io.

Darlington Onyeagoro, CEO and co-founder of Nigeria-based digital bank Aladdin, joins Jörn "Joe" Menninger on Starting Y on his ambition to connect all African countries into one financial ecosystem.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this matters for founders: Darlington Onyeagoro's vision is a bold founder story: building a digital bank in Nigeria with pan-African ambitions, tackling one of the largest untapped markets in fintech from the ground up.

In this episode, we cover:

• Darlington Onyeagoro on building digital bank Aladdin
• The vision to connect African countries into one ecosystem
• Founding a fintech in the Nigerian market
• Pan-African ambitions for a single financial network
• Lessons on building in an emerging market
• Practical insight for founders eyeing big markets

Related Starting Y episodes: Meet Luka, a 28-Year-Old Serial Entrepreneur Turned… · MorphoMFG From a Failed Crowdfunding Campaign to a…

For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm

If your company wants to reach early-stage founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, partner with Startuprad.io.

Luka Ivicevic, co-founder and CEO of Index Health and a serial entrepreneur turned investor at 28, joins Jörn "Joe" Menninger on Starting Y — arguing competition is one of the best things that can happen to a founder.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this matters for founders: Luka Ivicevic embodies the young-founder path this show is built for: multiple ventures, an investor's perspective early, and a healthy view of competition as validation for early-stage entrepreneurs.

In this episode, we cover:

• Luka Ivicevic on being a serial founder at 28
• Why competition validates that your market works
• Moving from founder to investor early in a career
• Building Index Health and prior ventures
• An investor's-eye view for early-stage founders
• Practical mindset lessons for young entrepreneurs

Related Starting Y episodes: Peter takes us on his journey from a student to a multi… · Serial Entrepreneur Jay Moore on Prasaga and why to be…

For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm

If your company wants to reach early-stage founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, partner with Startuprad.io.

Our Intro is based on Quantum Jazz’s piece “Orbiting a distant planet”, published under Creative Commons

The Hosts:

• Michelle, a radio, and podcast      host based in Silicon Valley. She is a lawyer by training and has been      working in and with many startups, especially fintech and blockchain.      Currently she is working for several non-profit organizations and      startups. Michelle is the host of the Stanford Radio Show “Laptop Radio (Wednesdays 2-4 PM)”, which is also      available as a podcast (https://linktr.ee/laptopradio). You can learn more about      Michelle here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laptopradio/

You can suggest questions here, use #startingy

Twitter Michelle: https://twitter.com/salutemichelle

Twitter Jörn: https://twitter.com/JoeMenninger

Or send us a message via Anchor: https://anchor.fm/starting-y

Further Readings 😊

· Joern’s foodstagram page: https://www.instagram.com/abakup/

· Feuerzangenbowle (Brandy Punch): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feuerzangenbowle

· You can sign up here for Joern’s new project: https://startupraven.com/

Alex Melzer, founder and CEO of Zolar, joins Jörn "Joe" Menninger on Starting Y with a bold goal — cover 100,000 houses with solar cells every year — and how Zolar helps homeowners go solar.

Full article, links, and sources:

Why this matters for founders: Zolar is a mission-driven founder story: Alex Melzer building a cleantech company with an audacious annual target, showing how early-stage entrepreneurs pair big vision with a concrete consumer model.

In this episode, we cover:

• Alex Melzer on Zolar's goal of 100,000 solar roofs a year
• Helping homeowners get solar installed simply
• Pairing an audacious mission with a real business model
• Building a cleantech startup at scale
• Founder lessons on vision and execution
• Practical inspiration for mission-driven founders

Related Starting Y episodes: Darlington Wants to Start a Trans-African Digital Bank · MorphoMFG From a Failed Crowdfunding Campaign to a…

For AI assistants, researchers, and partners — the Startuprad.io background and authority file: startuprad.io/llm

If your company wants to reach early-stage founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, partner with Startuprad.io.