It's a later autumn afternoon here where I work in Montpellier, France. The natural light you get around this time of year is just beautiful. It makes you want to be outside, enjoying the fresh air and the changing colors of the leaves.
But if you're a founder or early employee, you know sometimes it can be hard to get outside. To take a break, touch grass as the saying goes, so you have to be explicit about it.
I've just come back in from a lunch run that helped me focus on a background thought that I've struggled to pin down all summer. If you haven't noticed or don't often follow Depot or our work, you may not know that we've been growing and building a lot of new things this year.
We've more than tripled our team size since the start of the year, more than doubled our revenue, are processing tens of millions of builds a month, and have a lot more in the works. We also just got together for our first in-person offsite as a team, which was amazing.
Growing a team and a company is a unique challenge. It's not just about hiring people, it's about finding the right people, and then getting them to work together effectively. It's about building a culture that values quality, craftsmanship, communication, and attention to detail.
One of the things I've been thinking about a lot lately is the idea of giving a shit.
The effects of giving a shit
So what does caring about your work actually look like? Well, I think it depends on the company you're building, the space you're operating in, and the culture you want to have. Maybe for other founders, giving a shit isn't even on the list when they're hiring people. But, for me as a founder of Depot, I think giving a shit about your work looks like this:
- You care about the details. Yes, we are always under the time constraint to build quickly. But the people that I've seen who truly care about their work are the ones who pay attention to the details. They take the time to make sure everything is just right, even if it means putting in a little extra effort.
- You take ownership. When you give a shit about your work, you take ownership of it. You don't just do the bare minimum and move on. You care about the outcome and are willing to follow through to make sure it's successful.
- You communicate openly. Giving a shit also means being willing to communicate openly and honestly. It means sharing your thoughts, ideas, and concerns, and being receptive to feedback. Communication fosters trust and collaboration.
- You prioritize those using your product. We don't build for magical hypothetical users at Depot. No, we have diehard folks who rely on us to make their lives exponentially easier. So we need to be in tune with their needs and pain points.
- You revisit past work. Everything is an iteration. A sample of what could work placed into the world to learn from. Then, you build the next iteration. Rinse and repeat. The best folks in their craft understand this to their core.
Why am I writing this now you might ask. Well, hiring people isn't easy, and finding the right fit for your team takes real work. But, it seems the act of applying for a job has fallen off a cliff.
I see a ton of applicants wanting to work at Depot. I see very few applicants who actually put in any work or research to standout. Or put in other words, I see very few candidates who give a shit. I don't expect people to do massive projects, participate in panel interviews, or tell a life story where Depot is this magical place for them. Absolutely not. But, I do expect people to know what role they're applying for, why they believe Depot is the right place for them, and what they can bring to the table.
It sounds simple, but it's actually quite profound. When you give a shit about your work, your team, and your customers, it shows. It affects everything from the quality of your product to the way you interact with your colleagues.
How we hire at Depot
Depot has a relatively quick hiring process. Mostly because we like to hire fast when it feels right and see you do your best work within the real environment. Of course, as with anything in a startup, this is subject to change but it's working quite well for us today:
- We review your application or CV. If it looks like you have the background that would be helpful to what we are trying to do, we will schedule an intro call. About 90% of candidates get thrown out here for really dumb reasons like not having a CV, not sharing a LinkedIn, or not writing a single word in their intro email besides "I like the pay range."
- We have an intro call with you. Whoever is typically hiring for the role or the one closest to the problem will have a 45-minute intro call with you. This is a chance for us to get to know you better, understand your background, and see if you're a good fit for the role. We expect folks to at least be familiar with what Depot is and what we do here. If you have no idea, that's a red flag.
- Meet somebody on the team. If the intro call goes well, we will schedule a follow-up call with another team member. This is typically a more technical or role-specific conversation where we can dive deeper into your skills and experience.
- Meet a founder. If all goes well, we will schedule a final call with me or Jacob. This is a chance for us to get to know you better and see if you're a good fit for the company culture. If you're on a call with me, expect to talk about your values, what you care about, and how you approach your work. It's a chance to show you give a shit.
But what about a mono culture?
Good question. A potential downside to using this as a filter or baseline is that you hire people who all think the same. It's a valid point, but I think it misses out on one thing:
Everybody is unique and comes with a unique perspective. The act of being a good team member is not about conforming to a single way of thinking, but about caring deeply about the work and the people involved. If you hire people who are empathetic and care about their work, you're more likely to build a team that shares your values but who has their own valuable insights and lived experiences.
This diversity of thought and experience can lead to more creative solutions and a stronger team overall.
Conclusion
Going from 0 to 1 in building a startup is hard. Going from 1 to 10 is even harder. But, going from 10 to 100 is where the real challenge lies.
It's crucial to be crystal clear on your values and what you care about as you grow. You simply can't do everything under the sun, so you must prioritize. Similarly, you can't hire everyone you ever meet. You have to have some kind of foundation that you want to build the house on.
Culture and values evolve over time, but they start with a plan for what you want to build. That building plan includes what you want to see in people.
For Depot, the foundation is built on quality, craftsmanship, and a deep empathy for the folks we are helping and our colleagues. We value communication, attention to detail, and a willingness to go the extra mile to get things done right as quickly as possible.
As we're growing it's this lens that we are looking at folks through. If you reside outside that lens, that's perfectly fine. We're not trying to be everything to everyone. But, if you do share these values, and you want to be part of a team that is building something special, we'd love to hear from you.
