How to Build an A-Team: Lessons from a VC-Turned-Founder
Hiring is the single most impactful lever for any startup founder. “There are few things that have had as much impact on my company as the 30-45 minutes I spent with my first hires,” says Marc Laurent, former VC turned entrepreneur and co-founder of CarbonFact.
From Investor to Operator: A Shift in Perspective
After six years in venture capital, including five running his own fund, Kerala, Marc made the leap to entrepreneurship in 2021. While he had helped dozens of founders scale their companies, the reality of building a startup from scratch was eye-opening.
“The 12 to 18 months before traction are an emotional rollercoaster,” he admits. “You pitch, you get promising responses, and then… radio silence. As a VC, I never really saw this phase.”
His biggest takeaway from working with early-stage founders? Hiring makes or breaks a company. At Kerala, Marc and his team realized that helping their portfolio companies recruit top talent was the most valuable support they could provide.
How to Hire Like a Top VC
Marc developed a methodical approach to hiring, drawing from his experience as an investor and leveraging structured processes:
🔹 Start with organization, not job descriptions – “Before talking recruitment, we mapped out the company’s structure at T+6 months and T+12 months.” This ensured every hire was aligned with long-term goals.
🔹 Pitch candidates like investors – “We treated recruitment like fundraising. The CEO should be involved early, with a deck outlining the company vision, ‘why now,’ and the long-term opportunity.”
🔹 Look for ‘founder mindset’ hires – “We wanted people who acted like owners, not employees. If they didn’t question decisions or push back, that was a red flag.”
🔹 Balance ‘scrappy’ and experience – “At the early stage, you don’t need a Rolls-Royce; you need someone who can ship an MVP in a week. Our first engineering hire had to be comfortable with quick, imperfect iterations.”
🔹 Be methodical, but take risks – Marc recalls hiring a salesperson with zero experience in sales. “She had built her own fashion brand and had incredible grit. Now, she’s one of our top performers.”
The Hardest Part? Letting People Go
Despite his structured approach, Marc acknowledges that not every hire will work out. “Every departure hurts because it means we got something wrong—either in hiring, onboarding, or retaining them.”
When early mistakes happened, they acted fast: “One of our first engineering hires wasn’t a fit. We realized it in a month and made the decision quickly.”
Stock Options: Making Them Meaningful
Marc is also transparent about stock options. He understands skepticism: “Many startups offer stock options that end up being worth nothing.” At Carbonfact, they designed a founder-friendly stock plan:
- Deeply incentivized employees with significant equity stakes.
- A discounted exercise price to make the options valuable earlier.
- A two-year post-departure exercise window, instead of the standard three months, to avoid forcing employees into bad financial decisions.
Final Advice: Make Hiring a Competitive Advantage
For founders, recruitment isn’t just a process—it’s a strategic differentiator. “If you master hiring, you master execution. It’s that simple.”
Whether as a VC or a founder, Marc’s takeaway is clear: Hire slow, fire fast, and always be selling your vision.