“When I hire One person, I promise two. And in return, I ask for two promises,” said Paul English — currently founder of Boston Venture Studio, but perhaps best known as co-founder and CTO of travel platform Kayak.
He explains what he means by “fun”, he likes to give people the freedom to do what they need to do – to try things.
“The second promise is that your skills will increase faster than any other company,” he added, pointing to the need to invest in employees and believe in what they do. A micromanager is falling short on two promises: it’s not fun, and he says the team doesn’t have confidence in achieving their goals.
“Are all the people sitting around you energy vampires, or do you have fun with them? Do they improve your thoughts? Do they stimulate you? Or are you sitting with someone who is like a sarcastic person?” Paul English, founder of Boston Venture Studio
“If you’re micromanaging, you fail to recognize that someone is no longer a good fit for the team. It’s not that they’re not talented – maybe it’s just a matter of wrong person, wrong place.
We caught up with English speaking at a conference organized by venture fund Baukenst in Boston yesterday. We wrote about the first close of the new fund in April; Yesterday, the fund announced the closing of its entire $100 million fund – the largest ever raised at the pre-seed stage for a first-time fund.
So what does English demand from its employees? That’s where things really get interesting.
