Second Brain

Hiring Weirdos: The Bottom of the Resume

The Story

Sam hires “weirdos.” He focuses on the hobbies/interests section at the bottom of resumes, not the experience at the top.

His signature interview question: “What was the best class you studied in school, and why?” If someone can’t speak passionately about it, they’re out.

He discovered and hired Steph Smith (later recruited to Andreessen Horowitz) after reading her blog post “How to Be Great? Just Be Good, Repeatably.” She wasn’t even looking for a job.

Sam describes himself honestly: “I’m not really that much of a business person; I’m an artist.” He excels at 0-to-$5M scaling but struggles with operational management. His solution: install CEOs at every company so he doesn’t run day-to-day operations.

Lesson for Creators

Look for passion and curiosity, not credentials. Sam’s best hires weren’t found on job boards. They were found through blog posts, through passion projects, through the “weird” interests at the bottom of a resume. If you’re hiring or collaborating, look for people who care deeply about something, anything. Passion transfers across domains. Credentials don’t.

Backlinks