Mike Smith

Co-Founder & General Partner at Footwork (@footworkvc)

[Mike Smith @msmith492]

9/ …and for senior executives seeking a role at the early-stage:

- look to be inspired; don’t look for perfection in the role
- highlight what makes you uniquely you
- understand that you must deliver – you are highly compensated so you will need to show demonstrable impact

[Mike Smith @msmith492]

I’m often asked by founders, “how did Katrina Lake (@kmlake), get you to join Stitch Fix as COO when there were just 4 people at the company?”

[Mike Smith @msmith492]

8/ Moral of this story for founders looking to win over that dream hire:

- be clear about your vision and how your hire will help to achieve it
- be willing to share the stage
- be honest about where you need help (and where you think you don’t)

[Mike Smith @msmith492]

Hiring a COO isn’t easy at the early-stage and is wrought with more danger than potential success. Make sure you take the time to understand if you are ready for this hire. When it is done right, the impact on you and the company is tremendous.

[Mike Smith @msmith492]

I’m often asked by early-stage founders & CEOs: “how should I think about hiring a COO?”

After joining Stitch Fix as our COO when we were sub 10 employees, and having seen many founders go through this decision, I’ve developed a list of best practices and questions to consider:

[Mike Smith @msmith492]

10. Once you make your hire, have a good evaluation framework or rubric in place from the start to give you a better chance of it working out for all stakeholders (the CEO/founder, the company, the COO, and many times the board).