Hire Angel Operators before you build permanent teams.
Angel Operators are like Angel Investors: Instead of early investment, Angel Operators bring interim, first-boots-on-the-ground operational expertise. They help you build teams fast and avoid basic mistakes.
Think, a former startup VP Talent joining on a 2-month contract.
At Aula, we recently increased our hiring goal from 3 people to 30 people. Deadline: yesterday.
But we had zero recruiters. Panic. Not where you want to be as COO.
We decided not to panic-hire a full, permanent recruitment team overnight.
Instead, we brought in an Angel Operator, Tris, on a 2-month contract. Tris has scaled startups from 200 to 2,000 people. And runs a network of 5,000 recruiters. In short, Tris Has Done It Before.
Tris has been like a gift from Heaven. In 2 months, Tris and our People Lead, Ozzie, built a full interim recruitment team hiring 40+ engineers per year and helped find a permanent talent leader. Mariya starts on a solid foundation next week.
Now, Tris is phasing out. Job done for the Angel Operator.
Angel Operators have helped establish most new functions at Aula before we hired a permanent team. Helene built our support team in 2 months. Jess built our People Operations foundations in 2 months. Heather has built our finance function the last 12+ months, part-time.
The benefits of Angel Operators are:
- Time. Don’t hire before you know what the team should look because your house is on fire.
- Shortcuts. Experienced operators help you avoid basic mistakes.
- Hiring. Instant access to networks. Get help attracting your permanent leader.
Find your Angel Operators:
- Ask your board/advisors for recommendations. Ideal profile: former VPs/Directors with experience in an environment similar to yours.
- Pitch the thrill of building something from scratch without the stress of a long-term startup journey.
- Ask candidates practical questions. They need to be able and willing to be a 1-person team. For example: “Which CRM would you choose and why?”
- Don’t underpay. The right Angel Operator can save you thousands of dollars down the line.