Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology
00:15:07 · James Pringle, Alan Chang, Hector Mason
[00:15:07] S0: Yeah. And you've you said earlier that the limiter isn't capital. It is often talent and speed. What are the hardest roles for you to hire for today? [00:15:18] S1: It's engineering. The best engineers are high in demand, and I would say, like, a lot of, you know, top engineers who haven't heard about us. I think it's really top top engineers and actually designers too. Yeah, so for example, the micro solvent battery product is going look beautiful in your home. So not only has super high utility, we believe every product probably needs to be I know I mentioned this last time, right? The person I want to have lunch with is Enzo Ferrari. I really believe this principle of the things we build needs to be not only useful, but beautiful. And this product we're building will be beautiful to look at in your home, right? It's not gonna be an eyesore. And, you know, if we if we design an ugly product, even if it's super functional, I don't think people want it. [00:16:08] S2: Yeah. And so hiring is the the challenge. Like, how do you get around that? Like, how do you attract the best people?
00:16:08 · Hector Mason, Alan Chang
[00:16:08] S2: Yeah. And so hiring is the the challenge. Like, how do you get around that? Like, how do you attract the best people? [00:16:19] S1: Yeah. So... Yeah. So right now, for every engineer or designer, I also do the final interview. And I explain to them this is what we're going to do. I also explain to them this is going be very intense. It's going to be tough. Do what you will with that information. And I'll say majority of people get very excited, and, you know, they go from, you know, oh, this is just another job interview to, oh, actually, this is super exciting. This could be my life's work. And when when you're telling them how tough it's gonna be, what are you [00:16:53] S2: actually saying? Are you saying like you're gonna be here, you're gonna be sleeping in the office, you're gonna be working weekends or like are there some anecdotes that you share with them?
00:16:53 · Hector Mason, Alan Chang
[00:16:53] S2: actually saying? Are you saying like you're gonna be here, you're gonna be sleeping in the office, you're gonna be working weekends or like are there some anecdotes that you share with them? [00:17:01] S1: Well like I don't think sleeping in the office is strictly necessary. I'm not going to stop you from sleeping in the office if you want to, but you know it is not encouraged, right? But like there is going to be a lot of work. Ultimately, to build a full stack energy company, another way of saying it is like you're building 50 companies in one. But if you're building 50 companies in one and you have a team size of maybe 1.5 or two companies, right, then by definition, I mean there's going be more work on a per individual basis. So I mean, I think it's that, right? It's for the individual. I think this is a great environment for the individual that has high agency, wants impact, wants ownership, and wants to make a difference. [00:17:47] S2: Yeah. And like what are the signals in interviews that signal to you that an employee is gonna be an amazing employee or can you only find that out later?
00:17:47 · Hector Mason, Alan Chang
[00:17:47] S2: Yeah. And like what are the signals in interviews that signal to you that an employee is gonna be an amazing employee or can you only find that out later? [00:17:58] S1: Yeah. So I think I think, obviously, like the first thing to do is like whether they have the skills, right, to do the job. So if you're a designer, you have design skills, visual skills, as well as UX skills. For engineering, have programming, problem solving, etc. But if you think about traditional soft skills, or the attitude of people, it's actually quite simple, right? When you explain to them, just like I did, this is all the things we're going to do. These are all the markets we're going go. These are products we'll build. Blah, blah. And do they get excited? Like, do they, you know, lean in, right? Or do they lean out? And you can tell them body language. If they say like things like, it depends on compensation, oh, it depends on blah, depends on, you know, probably not the right fit. [00:18:49] S2: And has that been a reliable signal for you? [00:18:52] S1: Yeah. It's actually simple enough. They just self select out, which I totally respect that. Don't think FUSE is for everyone. And if you don't join, can still be a very talented engineer or talented designer and it's not right for you, right? And that's totally okay. But yeah, think it's more about very transparently explaining this is what it's going to be. There are no surprises. If you like this, if this is your thing, please join, right? [00:19:23] S2: Love that.
00:19:23 · Hector Mason, James Pringle, Alan Chang
[00:19:23] S2: Love that. [00:19:24] S0: What do you feel more strongly now than you did when you last came on the show? [00:19:29] S1: I think my conviction that this problem could be solved is higher than before. Although the, you know, although the complexity... My estimation complexities went up, but what I know about the problem also went up. And I... I'm more and more convinced this can be solved. [00:19:45] S2: So is this the next is this the next $100,000,000,000 company, Alan? Is this the next trillion dollar company? [00:19:52] S1: Well, I think I think if we're successful, I think this could be, you know, I think fees could be a lot more than that. Well, time to get in now. [00:20:01] S0: Yeah. It was probably time to get in when we first did. [00:20:04] S2: Yeah. Yeah. Well, but for anyone listening, only candidate. We've got amazing candidates listening, so they should all reply.
00:20:04 · Hector Mason, James Pringle, Alan Chang
[00:20:04] S2: Yeah. Yeah. Well, but for anyone listening, only candidate. We've got amazing candidates listening, so they should all reply. [00:20:10] S0: No. It's great. Well, Alan, thank you for, sharing all of that. We've still got our final two questions, but just sort of reflecting on the conversation, what you guys did at Revolut is obviously exceptional to go again in a completely new market and do what you've done so far. It might only seem like a small achievement because you've still got such a, you know, important mission to to deliver on. But, I think what you're doing is great, and a very happy customer. And, obviously, this is a... If if you achieve what you think you will, then it will be a huge success for for yourself and for Europe and for for everyone involved, and it will be their life's work. So it's great to hear. Our final question is our dinner party guest game. So you hinted earlier that you'd remembered the three that you came up with last time. So you... So I... I've got them here in front of me, but you probably remember them. But if you were to have dinner with any three people now, who would they be? [00:21:06] S1: I'll I'll probably still pick those three, to be honest.