Written by Rachel Krantz, Talent Agent

Your team matters more than your product when trying to convince investors to trust you with some of their cash.  But how do you build a good startup team?

3 Things To Look For When Hiring For A Startup

1) They can do the work you need to get done

Passion for your idea and work ethic go with out saying. This is passion + work ethic + skills.

Can they get stuff done? More importantly, can they get your stuff done? If you need a marketer, and you interview someone who is really good at balancing your checkbooks, that’s not going to work.

I feel like I’m spouting the obvious here, but it can be really hard to turn away someone who is awesome but doesn’t fit your need. We’ve interviewed people who are really good at what they do, but we don’t need someone who does what they do.

When you’re bootstrapping, you can’t afford to bring on awesome people who won’t help you in the here and now — they won’t be satisfied with the work they are doing, and you will run out of money to pay them. Stay friends with them for the future when you do need them, but don’t stretch yourself too thin to quickly.

2) They fit the culture

If you interview someone who loves startups because of the cereal bars and ping pong tables at their last one, and your team is made up of triathletes with nary a ping pong paddle in sight, it’s probably not going to be a long-term relationship.

I’ve talked about culture before, and I will talk about it again, because it is so important. You’ve heard “You are what you eat.” Well, you also are who you are.

Your people are your company. Your company are your people. If your people love base jumping, you will probably take more risks as a company. If your people love corny jokes and cat videos, your company will probably have awesome customer service.

Who do you want to be as a company? Hire those people.

3) They have a “flexible mind”

Are they adaptable?

A recent article on Entrepreneur.com points out you want to “hunt for people to write the manual,” not just read it. You want someone who can meet change with “agile, adaptable and flexible minds that are capable of constant learning.”

If their favorite TV show is “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” that’s probably a good start.

In fact, if that is your favorite TV show, call me.

We like corny clever jokes over here. We also have great customer service.