Produced by W2D1 Media. Work with us →
← All guides
Topic guide · 23 episodes

Hiring & Team

Recruiting, culture and building the team around the mission.

Your first hires set the ceiling on what you can build. Early on every person is a large share of the company and the culture, which makes recruiting, equity and the call on who to let go some of the highest-stakes decisions a founder makes.

Founders and operators talk through building the team around the mission — how they hired (and mis-hired), how they used equity and option pools, and what changes about leadership as the team grows.

“Everyone can build. Not everyone can sell.”
— Cloë Stanbridge, Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald
Questions founders ask

What founders want to know

Answers are drawn live from the network's conversations by Ask the Network.

Across the network

Shows covering Hiring & Team

Listen

23 episodes on Hiring & Team

Patrick Buchan: Australia's first new steel mill in 30 years ▶

Engineering in the Hunter · 22 September 2026

Patrick Buchan: Australia's first new steel mill in 30 years

The Engineer Who Hasn’t Written Code in 9 Months: Jack Rudenko, 10x Labs ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 2 September 2026

The Engineer Who Hasn’t Written Code in 9 Months: Jack Rudenko, 10x Labs

Nobody Knows What to Pay Anymore: A Building Tech Teams Best-Of ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 26 August 2026

Nobody Knows What to Pay Anymore: A Building Tech Teams Best-Of

Building with Atoms and Bits: 5 Founders Making Hard Tech in Australia | HEO, Alloy, Vexev, Zabidou, Antares ▶

Oversubscribed with Brendan Hill · 20 August 2026

Building with Atoms and Bits: 5 Founders Making Hard Tech in Australia | HEO, Alloy, Vexev, Zabidou, Antares

Why "The Number Is Never the Problem": Matt McFarlane, Founder of FNDN ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 19 August 2026

Why "The Number Is Never the Problem": Matt McFarlane, Founder of FNDN

Why You Should Think Global From Day One: Ilana Elbaz on Deel ▶

Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 19 August 2026

Why You Should Think Global From Day One: Ilana Elbaz on Deel

Why "Show Me Your Harness" Beats Any Coding Test: Adam Witanowski, AI Architect ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 11 August 2026

Why "Show Me Your Harness" Beats Any Coding Test: Adam Witanowski, AI Architect

The Junior Engineer Isn’t Needed Anymore: Cloë Stanbridge, Talent Lead at Airtree ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 4 August 2026

The Junior Engineer Isn’t Needed Anymore: Cloë Stanbridge, Talent Lead at Airtree

How to Build AI Capability Without Chasing Every New Model — Patrick McQuaid, NGM Group ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 28 July 2026

How to Build AI Capability Without Chasing Every New Model — Patrick McQuaid, NGM Group

Are Your People More Productive — or Just Faster? — Claudia Barriga-Larriviere, Startup Flamingo ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 21 July 2026

Are Your People More Productive — or Just Faster? — Claudia Barriga-Larriviere, Startup Flamingo

John Fry: building Australia's first missile factory in the Hunter ▶

Engineering in the Hunter · 16 July 2026

John Fry: building Australia's first missile factory in the Hunter

Nathan Hill: Managing a Team of Agents Now — What's That Worth? ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 14 July 2026

Nathan Hill: Managing a Team of Agents Now — What's That Worth?

Guardrails Are Just Suggestions: Securing AI Agents with Okta's Kevin Akermanis ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 7 July 2026

Guardrails Are Just Suggestions: Securing AI Agents with Okta's Kevin Akermanis

Why Your First Hire Isn't an Engineer Anymore — Michael Batko, ex-Startmate CEO ▶

Building Tech Teams with James MacDonald · 30 June 2026

Why Your First Hire Isn't an Engineer Anymore — Michael Batko, ex-Startmate CEO

Inside ElevenLabs: Voice AI, Cloning Ethics, and the End of the Call Centre? ▶

In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 26 June 2026

Inside ElevenLabs: Voice AI, Cloning Ethics, and the End of the Call Centre?

How to Think About Equity as a Startup Employee ▶

First Cheque with Cheryl Mack & Maxine Minter · 8 June 2026

How to Think About Equity as a Startup Employee

How to Stop Your AI Agents From Breaking with Josh Clemm, VP of Engineering at Dropbox ▶

In The Blink Of AI with Georgie Healy · 17 April 2026

How to Stop Your AI Agents From Breaking with Josh Clemm, VP of Engineering at Dropbox

AI, Hiring, and Trust: Why Shortcuts Break Interviews ▶

Secured by Galah Cyber · 5 February 2026

AI, Hiring, and Trust: Why Shortcuts Break Interviews

Bret Barton: HunterNet Senior Business Advisor ▶

Engineering in the Hunter · 3 February 2026

Bret Barton: HunterNet Senior Business Advisor

Hiring in 27 Seconds: Luke Marshall on Growth, Gen Z & Video-First Recruitment with UseVerb ▶

Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 2 July 2025

Hiring in 27 Seconds: Luke Marshall on Growth, Gen Z & Video-First Recruitment with UseVerb

James Fielding shares his belief that Australia’s talent pool is world class ▶

The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 23 August 2022

James Fielding shares his belief that Australia’s talent pool is world class

Kylie Frazer discusses some common causes co-founders separate ▶

The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 2 June 2022

Kylie Frazer discusses some common causes co-founders separate

Brendan Hill examines the war on talent in Australia
▶

The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 12 April 2022

Brendan Hill examines the war on talent in Australia

Key terms

The Hiring & Team glossary

Full Startup & VC glossary →
More guides
Produced by W2D1 Media

Want a show like this for your fund or company?

We're W2D1 Media — the team behind the Day One Network, and we helped build Blackbird Ventures' Wild Hearts. We turn podcasts into trust, authority and pipeline.

Book a call →
—