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

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23 episodes on Hiring & Team

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

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

Engineering in the Hunter · 31 August 2026

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

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

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

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

The History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series

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

Kylie Frazer discusses some common causes co-founders separate

Key terms

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