{"id":43215,"date":"2023-10-20T15:26:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/how-the-shoes-of-prey-founders-hire-their-best-employees-and-the-biggest-mistakes-they-see-startups-make-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:26:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:26:57","slug":"how-the-shoes-of-prey-founders-hire-their-best-employees-and-the-biggest-mistakes-they-see-startups-make-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/how-the-shoes-of-prey-founders-hire-their-best-employees-and-the-biggest-mistakes-they-see-startups-make-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Shoes of Prey founders hire their best employees and the biggest mistakes they see startups make – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Shoes of Prey co-founder Michael Fox says he personally rejected two of the Australian startup\u2019s best employees.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In an AMA run by Blackbird Ventures, the now US-based entrepreneur says luckily others stepped in, and he no longer relies on traditional means when recruiting.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve found interviewing and even resumes to be a terrible way of predicting how good an employee will be,\u201d Fox says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe best way to work out who to hire is to work with them first in some capacity or, failing that, to do very detailed and thorough reference checks.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He describes how he initially knocked back two individuals who turned out to be some Shoes of Prey\u2019s best team members.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTwo of our best employees I personally rejected \u2013 one from their resume and one from their interview, but fortunately smarter minds at Shoes of Prey prevailed,\u201d Fox says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOn the opposite side we\u2019ve had hires who I thought performed very well in their interviews who we\u2019ve ended up having to exit from the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the Q&A session, the founder also gave a number of insights into growing the startup in the US and advice picked up along the way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What makes a good investor<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Shoes of Prey has been lucky to not have any \u201cidiot investors\u201d, Fox says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He says there a number of qualities that are crucial for founders to see in their potential investors:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  • have invested in and mentored successful startups<\/li>\n
  • direct with feedback<\/li>\n
  • will roll up their sleeves and help when it\u2019s needed and can even tip you off when their help is needed<\/li>\n
  • they get out of your way when they can\u2019t help \u2013 the worst combination of thinking they can help and not being able to help<\/li>\n
  • great culture fit<\/li>\n
  • passionate about startups<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cI think we\u2019ve been fortunate to not have any idiot investors, but add \u2018not\u2019 to the front of each of the above and you\u2019d have the makings of one,\u201d Fox says.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    The most common startup mistake<\/strong><\/h3>\n

     <\/strong><\/p>\n

    According to Fox, there\u2019s one simple mistake that startup founders make regularly.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cI think the most common mistake startups make is focusing on marketing or growth hacking or partnerships rather than focusing on getting the core product right,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s certainly a mistake we\u2019ve made and in hindsight we could have grown a lot more quickly if we\u2019d done this the right way around.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    This realisation led to the biggest lesson that he has learnt during his time growing Shoes of Prey.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cYou can growth hack all you like or partner with the best people in the world and it won\u2019t work if you don\u2019t have an awesome product,\u201d Fox says.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cWe still constantly see examples of this in our business.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cWhile our product is good, the biggest investments we make continue to be on improving it.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/h3>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Why they had to move away from Australia<\/strong><\/h3>\n

     <\/strong><\/p>\n

    The online retailer relocated from Sydney to Los Angeles in July last year and Fox says while this was an easy business decision, it was a much harder personal one.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cIt was clear that we needed to make the move from a business perspective,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cWe needed to build a fashion brand in the US and it would be close to impossible to do that successfully without being in the US \u2013 we\u2019d have a high likelihood of failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cBut personally it was a much harder decision. We love Australia and the emerging startup scene there \u2013 I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll end up back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Working hard or working smart<\/strong><\/h3>\n

     <\/strong><\/p>\n

    For Fox, continual hard work and startups go hand-in-hand.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard of a startup being successful without the founders working incredibly hard,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cYou need a combination of hard work and working smart.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cI\u2019ve worked a lot harder in the last six years than I did before I was an entrepreneur, and I\u2019ve found the business has suffered during the periods where I\u2019ve been distracted by other things and not working as hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    It\u2019s about ensuring you\u2019re doing something you enjoy, so this hard work doesn\u2019t get too much.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cThe key to being able to work so hard is doing something you\u2019re passionate about,\u201d Fox says.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \u201cIf you find that then working hard doesn\u2019t actually feel like work. Thinking about the business or doing phone calls in the middle of the night becomes less of an issue than if you were doing something you didn\u2019t enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Follow StartupSmart on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Soundcloud. <\/em><\/p>\n

     <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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