Founders wear many hats. One role I consistently see less well understood is that they’re the “Chief Judge of Talent” for their startup. This C-suite “role” is possibly the most important role a founder needs to embody.

It requires founders to have a strong nose for triple-A talent. Not B+, not A-, but A++. Not delegated out to others too early. Not confused by pedigree. Not underweighting experience. You’ve heard the axiom that B players hire C players. I often see first time founders be more lenient in their hiring.

To not accidentally hire B players, a founder needs to have exposure to greatness. Great founders constantly seek understanding what great looks like, and figure out how they can get the best talent possible. They treat hiring dream candidates like a game. They always have an answer to the question what Dream Candidate would they love to recruit.

If founders haven’t been exposed to greatness, they need to seek it out. The best seek understanding what great looks like in certain functions and domains, and then figure out how they can get acquire that talent. Normally founders with high exposure to greatness have crazy impressive networks. You find yourself asking “how’d they get that person to advise their startup??

Another element of being the Chief Judge of Talent is that you must hold the bar incredibly high. Sometimes the bar will feel too high. Your team will complain. In the early years, only give out hiring responsibility to others who you think have developed really strong noses for AAA talent.

Founders must be resource magnets to attract talent, capital and customers. Especially talent. Great founders are Chief Judges of Talent.