Hiring for Success - Nick Cromydas - Not Another CEO Podcast - Episode #8

Sep 10, 2024

Nick Cromydas, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Hunt Club, shares his journey from competitive tennis to tech entrepreneurship. He emphasizes hiring curious and passionate individuals, detailing how his all-hands meetings evolved to foster transparency and celebrate diverse voices. Nick discusses cultivating open communication, using an innovative interview approach called the 'life walk' to assess candidates' backgrounds. The conversation also touches on navigating growth and challenges during COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of relationships in business.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

The Evolution of All-Hands Meetings: Embracing Diverse Voices

03:28 • 2min

Fostering a Culture of Open Communication

04:59 • 3min

The Essential Role of All-Hands Meetings in Effective Leadership

07:34 • 3min

Hiring for Curiosity and Passion

10:08 • 9min

Navigating Growth: Fundraising and Strategic Planning

18:43 • 12min

Navigating Adversity: Business Lessons from COVID-19

30:18 • 13min

From Tennis Courts to Tech Ventures

43:00 • 22min

Joining the show this week is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor that has invested in over 40 companies. He is one of the best when it comes to connecting people, this guest is none other than the Co-Founder and CEO of Hunt Club, Nick Cromydas.

Nick joins host David Politis to discuss his journey from a collegiate tennis player to a tech entrepreneur. Nick examines the importance of hiring curious and passionate people, as well as the importance of transparency. He delves into his innovative all-hands meetings and how they evolved over time.

Takeaways:

Entrepreneur from the start. Nick had been an entrepreneur his whole life. He started reselling tennis equipment as a kid, then built an online platform to connect college athletes and alumni, and now is a Co-Founder of one of the largest leadership search firms in the world.
A culture of asking questions. Hunt Club has been able to establish a monthly all-hands meeting dedicated to transparency, allowing the rest of the company to share their successes and perspectives, and open and honest communication within the company.
Leading with curiosity. Nick has found that many in the executive search industry don’t come from a solutions oriented background. When hiring for their team, they prefer to hire someone who is curious and willing to better understand the problem in front of them.
Having a passion outside of work. If an employee was ever passionate about something outside of their work, a good leader should work to recreate that passion for something in the business. Nick actively looks for passions when hiring new employees.
Bouncing back from rejection. The economic effects of the pandemic killed an acquisition deal of Hunt Club and caused an 80% loss in revenue shortly after. They were able to cut leadership compensation, cut costs, and capitalize on the new and unique deals to be exceeding goals a few months later.
Speed to resiliency. The time it takes to get over issues gets shorter as time goes on. What took weeks to get past when you start your business could take minutes to get over in the future.

Quote of the Show:

“If you don’t really build a culture where people are comfortable asking a really hard or direct question, or asking something that they don’t know, it’s impossible to actually close the gap on what you're trying to build together.” - Nick Cromydas

Links:

Twitter: https://x.com/nickcromydas
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cromydas/
Website: https://www.huntclub.com/

Ways to Tune In:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NQ9oAB2XKlgWeL8iEQXg0
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/not-another-ceo-podcast/id1751581707
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/7c6328f0-9b42-41db-8fe2-d263b4fbb261
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotAnotherCEOPodcast