

Ask HN: How do you measure fire-in-the-belly? - levelindicator

How do I screen early tech contributors to my startup for their "fire in the belly?" Not everyone is willing to eat Ramen and roll with the punches but the economic climate has made it harder to tell who's really hungry and who's just looking for a meal. We are pursuing a database driven application for mobile. We have some funding but we are running lean and I am afraid of making some bad early hires in this regard. We're in Seattle and I have been initially enthused about some very smart off-the-bench retirees from large local tech companies. I have come to my senses before an offer letter has been written but I am looking for other tips and ideas. See my profile if you would prefer to contact me directly.
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regycombinator
Since startups are by their natures unpredictable, what level of
unpredictability will your candidates realistically tolerate? Requests for
deferred compensation, for example, is a tipoff that a candidate has big
company expectations that cannot be satisfied by most startups.

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blasdel
Anyone that rolls their eyes after you use 'mobile' as a collective noun is a
good bet.

