The other day I saw that a prominent venture capitalist had just joined a VC firm as a new partner. It was kind of a big deal in the startup world for this guy to join this firm.
But what hit me was the fact that, in the month or so prior to this move, I had heard on at least three occasions at least two different people from this firm publicly compliment this guy. He was mentioned in Tweets about the best VCs to follow, complimented in a podcast episode, etc.
I have no idea how it actually went down, but I thought it would be a pretty good strategy to publicly praise someone you wanted to work with on a regular basis and in a genuine way. If someone tried to recruit you to join their company, you’d be a lot more inclined if there was an established track record of them saying nice things about you over the years on social media, etc. You’d know you were known and respected there already.
I’m incredibly fascinated by talent recruitment. I’m always trying to build the best team in the world, and I like to keep a list of A players I would love to work with if and when possible. I like the idea of tipping those people off in some way to the high opinion I have of them to help lay the groundwork for potential future recruitment.
ABC. Always Be Cultivating.