Hiring Your First Head of People

On this podcast episode, Amir Bormand interviews Madeline Minshew, the Vice President of Culture at True Ventures. They discuss the importance of hiring your first head of people and what to look for when taking a job as the first people leader hire. True Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in extraordinary founders and their innovative ideas. They are sector-agnostic and focus on backing exceptional individuals in various markets. This episode explores the characteristics of successful founders and the significance of building a strong team.

Highlights: 

[00:02:26] Characteristics of extraordinary founders.

[00:07:11] Letting go of control.

[00:09:25] Preserving culture while scaling.

[00:13:40] Building the right company.

[00:18:58] Questions for job seekers.

[00:24:14] HR's evolving role in organizations.

[00:27:21] Asking questions and viewing problems.

Guest:

As True’s VP of Culture, Madeline guides True Founders as they evolve as leaders, grow their teams, and intentionally build organizational cultures. She believes authentic, honest relationships that value trust, diversity of perspectives, and open feedback are the quintessential cornerstone of healthy, high-performing teams.

Above all, Madeline is a super-connector across the True Portfolio; she brings together founders, executives, and portfolio team members to create deeper synergy, build collective wisdom, and encourage a sense of belonging.

Prior to joining True, Madeline was the VP of people and talent at Handshake, a True Portfolio company that’s since grown into the leading career development network for college students and recent graduates. Before Handshake, Madeline focused on hiring high-performing talent and building strong, inclusive cultures at Cadre, Tumblr, and Google.

A San Francisco native, Madeline also speaks French and German fluently. Madeline graduated magna cum laude from Barnard College of Columbia University with a major in political science and a minor in French literature.

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