Asking the Right Interview Questions
Building a Company Vol. 2
Hi friends,
Welcome to another episode of “Building a Billion-Dollar Business”. My goal is to build a (billion-dollar company) starting from scratch while traveling the world. I’m doing this in public & will share my lessons, progress, and experiences along the way. Thanks for your support!
⭐️ Building in public brings such wonderful gifts. Already I’m getting referrals from my postcard readers (you guys 😊). Thank you. Keep them coming!
What is “Operations”?
When I first started, I thought I would be a developer. After all, that’s what I studied in school.
However, I quickly realized that that was not the best use of my time. Which led me to a key insight…
FACT: Once you realize you can hire someone to do things you’re not good at — that frees you up time to do bigger and better things. Such a cheat code! Always be looking to hire your replacement!
Anyway, my primary role is now operations (& product of course).
You might be wondering..
“What the hell is operations?”
Well .. it’s actually a catch-all term. If I were to summarize, it basically means you ensure the business is going in the right direction.
You might be responsible for:
Preparing (required) documents (eg. pitch deck)
Answering questions from prospective candidates
Scheduling calls with coworkers
Sourcing and hiring
Facilitating conversations
Aligning the team on the vision
Planning finances
Responding to inquiries from all stakeholders
Basically, it’s the glue that holds the company together.
And I’m a rockstar at it 😎
Product Development (Progress)
When I first joined, I thought we needed a developer.
So I got a developer.
Then I realized .. he can’t start!! 🤦♂️
Because we don’t have the designs.
So I started making the designs..
❌ Mistake — You’re not actually supposed to start with colors and logos and screens (which I later realized after working with a design agency).
First, you need to start with user stories.
“Fancy way of saying — what does a person on the app actually do?”
What type of actions would they perform?
What is the motivation behind those actions?
So after a FigJam session, here’s what we came up with:
Our platform serves two groups. The blue is for creators and the pink is for fans. They’re different.
Then, we gathered some inspiration from other applications we liked.
Lastly, we came up with a “Lo-Fi” design.
Which is basically a “mockup” of the app.
The next step is to make a high-fidelity (ie. more detailed) version.
Stay tuned!
My Favorite Interview Questions
I’d like to share two of my favorite interview questions I’ve been asking developers:
What’s the difference between SQL and noSQL (& when would you use one over the other)?
What are all the components in the system we’re building?
I’m really looking for two things:
Technical Capability. Do they have some semblance that they know what they’re doing (at least conceptually)?
Humility. Are they trying to show me they know more than they actually do? Are they comfortable being “stuck”? FYI: The best developers are always looking for “solutions”.
I don’t care about their existing knowledge stack as much as I care that they’re a fast learner. After all, what I’m really looking for is potential.
Thanks for reading this issue!
If you’d like to see parts of the series, check below:
As always, I’d love to hear from you 😊
Leo A
I'm seeing the potential