The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: Hiring 101; The Biggest Mistakes Founders Make in the Hiring Process | Fundraising; What to Optimize for, How Profitability Changes Leverage When Raising | SMB to Enterprise; When to Move, What Changes and Dangers of Moving Too Early with Daniel Yan

Jul 1, 2022

Daniel Yanisse, Co-founder and CEO of Checkr, opens up about his journey with the $5 billion HR tech company and insights from his time at NASA. He dives into common hiring pitfalls founders face, including the importance of assessing ego and humility during interviews. Additionally, Daniel shares crucial advice for fundraising in today's challenging market and the significance of adapting strategies based on growth stages. His reflections on fostering company culture during transitions and the delicate balance needed in leadership dynamics are particularly enlightening.

39:46

Creator website

Episode guests

Daniel Yanisse

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Negative feedback needs to be balanced out by positive: shit sandwich

01:16

Get someone else to solicit feedback on you (possibly a coach)

01:26

Enterprise and f100 is an entirely different beast

01:26

Intro

3min

Navigating Leadership Challenges in Startups

11min

Unity and Growth in Leadership

8min

Navigating Turbulence: Lessons in Growth and Fundraising

8min

Navigating Strategic Decisions: Growth, M&A, and Company Culture

2min

Quick-Fire Insights on Hiring and Meaningful Contributions in Startups

2min

Reflecting on Support and Future Aspirations

4min

Daniel Yanisse is the co-founder and CEO of Checkr, a leading HR technology company, currently valued at $5 billion. During the journey, Daniel has raised over $679M for Checkr from some of the best including Accel, Bond, Coatue, GV, Elad Gil and IVP to name a few. Prior to Checkr, Daniel was a software engineer and helped develop prototypes of the Mars Rover for NASA. Daniel has been recognized in Forbes “30 Under 30” and recently Checkr was recognized by Forbes as one of America’s best start-up employers.

In Today’s Episode with Daniel Yanisse You Will Learn:

1.) The Origins of Checkr: The $5BN Company

How did Daniel come to co-found Checkr? What was the a-ha moment?
How did Daniel's experience with his prior company impact how he thought about building Checkr?
What does Daniel know now that he wishes all first-time founders knew when they started?

2.) Hiring 101:

What are the single biggest hiring mistakes Daniel made in the early days of Checkr?
How does Daniel structure his interview process for new candidates today? How has it changed?
How does Daniel test for ego and humility in the interview process?
How does Daniel approach giving feedback today? How has it changed over time?
What does Daniel believe is the right way to let someone go? How long does one give a team member who is not performing?

3.) Fundraising 101:

How does Daniel advise founders going out to raise today in the challenging market conditions?
What terms should founders optimize for? What terms should they not optimize for?
What are the single biggest mistakes Daniel sees founders make when raising?
What does Daniel wish he had done differently with Checkr's raises?
What was the hardest raise for Checkr? Why was it so hard? What was the outcome?

4.) Going into Enterprise:

Why does Daniel believe they went into enterprise too soon? What was the result of this?
How does Daniel advise founders on when is the right time to go into enterprise?
What changes in both your company and your product when moving to enterprise?

Items Mentioned in Today’s Episode with Daniel Yanisse:

Daniel’s Favourite Book: Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and Devops: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations

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