Being Hands On Helps You Hire
I wrote this article for Atlanta's weekly Startup Digest email, which I curate. It was originally published in the digest on Monday, April 8th, 2013.
"I love to build things," says Corey Towe, co-founder of Atlanta-area startup Hands On Test. "I love to build things that have sustainable value and make life easier or a job more effective."
With Hands on Test, he focuses on easing a job he has experienced firsthand: hiring software developers.
"Hiring the right software programmer is difficult and costly for an organization," he says. "We want to decrease the risk of making a bad hire, while also providing an environment for candidates to demonstrate their real-world coding skills. We want to help companies connect to exceptional talent and connect exceptional talent to great companies."
Hands On Test was born out of Towe's own needs in his previous role, in which he was responsible for a large IT organization.
"We were constantly interviewing software programmers and tried a lot of different ways to get it right," he admits. "We spent at least $500k annually just on screening programmers."
Towe worked to improve and perfect the hiring process to make it more time efficient and cost effective.
"We tried reading through examples, white board tests, multiple choice exams and several other variations," he says. "But even with a rigorous, time-consuming interview process, we were still occasionally shocked and dismayed to see below par work from new hires."
Instead of accepting these hiring results as the norm, Towe and his future Hands On Test cofounder, Chris Hardwick, committed themselves to finding a solution to the problem.
"We decided to invest the time to create an actual real-world work scenario in a real-world environment," Towe says. "We put this to the test with the programmers we interviewed. We immediately saw the benefits and packaged this strategy so that others can enjoy the same outcomes. The result is Hands On Test."
As the co-founder of a firm that specializes in simplifying the hiring process, Towe thoroughly understands the importance of proper hiring practices for his own business.
"At our stage as a startup this is vitally important," he explains. "We don't have any margin to make a bad hiring decision, so we vet candidates very carefully to make sure they are a good skill, culture, and team fit. We can’t compromise on what’s important to us, and we have to make sure those we bring onto our teams can be successful at the job we hire them to do. People decisions are the most important decisions."
Towe's emphasis on making sound "people decisions" extends from his professional to his personal life, and he is a devoted husband and father.
"I have three children under 9 years old - Joshua is 8, Jacob is 5, and Anniston is 2 - so they keep me busy. One moment I’m playing Super Mario Brothers Wii and the next I’m dancing with Cinderella. They keep me on my toes."
Between managing his startup and focusing on his family, Towe also finds time for one of his favorite hobbies: reading.
"I read all the time, maybe too much," he confesses, "but books have mentored me in many ways during different seasons of my life. It is said that 'readers lead and leaders read,' and I can see the benefit of having a consistent habit to read books. The book that has had the most recent impact to my startup is The Four Steps to Epiphany by Steve Blank. This is a must read for anyone wanting to start a company."
Towe also recommends another book that has shaped his approach to life beyond his career.
"From a personal perspective, the most recent book to resonate with me is Love Does by Bob Goff. I’m inspired by his life and faith...I’m motivated by doing something that matters. I love what Bob Goff says about this. He says, 'I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.' I want to work on things that make a difference for other people."
To experience how Hands On Test could make a difference for you and your firm, simply visit www.HandsOnTest.com and start using it.
"Use our product and provide feedback," Towe encourages. "Our desire is to build a product that has real value for our customers. The best way to figure this out is to get people to use the product and then engage us with their feedback. This way we can validate our assumptions about what is important and what is not important."
Focusing on what is most important -- people -- well, that is something for which Towe and Hands On Test have a real talent.
Corey Towe's 3 Top Rules for Successful Entrepreneurs
I asked Corey for his top three pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Here are his answers:
First, validate all your assumptions as quickly as possible. This includes your product assumptions and your business assumptions. We don't really know what is valuable and what will resonate with our customers until we get out there and interact.
Second, bring on a superstar technical co-founder if you are not a technical person. I’ve seen too many startups make bad technology decisions that set them back months or even shut them down. You need someone you can trust who can effectively drive the technology and do the coding work.
Third, startups are hard! You have to view your startup as an Ironman and not a 5k. You have to be committed because your emotions are like a roller coaster. It also helps to have a good group of advisors you can lean on when things are tough who can help you interpret what’s going on around you.