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The traditional approach to talent acquisition is undergoing a significant shift. As a founder and investor, I'm operating at the tip of the spear in building and scaling tech companies, I've observed a growing demand for a new type of professional — I like to call this person the "boulder climber," but this isn't your typical corporate climber focused on titles and promotions. These are the people who can move seamlessly between high-level strategic thinking and hands-on execution, which is invaluable for early startups.
The concept of a boulder climber is both simple and powerful. They can step off the boulder to gain a big-picture perspective on a problem or market and then ascend the boulder to execute the necessary details. Whether it's developing a strategic growth plan or coding a critical product feature, they thrive in both realms. In fact, they're equally at home in the boardroom discussing long-term vision as they are at a whiteboard sketching out product designs or writing code.
Increasingly, the boulder climber is the ideal hire startups are looking for as they hunt for talent.
Related: Why You Need to Prioritize Second-Chance Hiring to Compete for Top-Tier Talent
Why boulder climbers are invaluable
At a startup, boulder climbers bring a high level of versatility and adaptability, which are critical for early-stage companies that often operate with limited resources. I've seen firsthand how this type of person can make or break a growing company. Startups can't afford large, siloed teams or extensive layers of middle management, so having people who can wear multiple hats is not just a benefit — it's a necessity for survival and growth.
My co-founders and I have embraced this mindset from the beginning. We view talent acquisition like product development. Just as we iterate on a product's features to adapt to market needs, we approach team-building with the same level of intentionality. At our current business, Bread, we review our organizational structure and team composition quarterly, constantly re-evaluating our roles and team fit. Within three quarters, I personally moved from focusing on developing and installing our new 0-to-product design process to building our new founder onboarding process. This same conversation happens with every employee — and the good ones can step down from their day-to-day work and reassess where they might be able to provide the most leverage for the business.
When you approach hiring this way, you're not just looking for a specific skill set; you're looking for adaptability, a willingness to solve problems at any level and the ability to climb the boulder — both up and down — quickly.
Finding and nurturing boulder climbers
Identifying boulder climbers in a hiring process requires a shift in focus. Instead of sticking rigidly to years of experience or specialized skills, you need to prioritize indicators of versatility. Ask yourself: has this person successfully taken on a range of responsibilities in past roles? Can they distill complex ideas and communicate them effectively to diverse audiences? Are they genuinely curious about various facets of the business? In short, you're not just looking for someone with expertise — you're looking for someone who can cross traditional boundaries.
As a result, all of our hiring initiatives are slanted toward communication. For technical leaders, we care less about testing their knowledge of singular programming languages. We instead ask them to present problems they've solved in the past and explain how they solved them. Additionally, we ask them to critique how we solved a particular problem in the past.
Once you've found and hired this person, you need to nurture them. Creating an environment where continuous learning and cross-functional collaboration are the norm allows boulder climbers to thrive. You should encourage all of your team members to step outside their comfort zones, take on new challenges and contribute to different parts of the business. When you celebrate adaptability and creativity as much as specialized expertise, you build a culture that attracts and retains this valuable talent.
As a company grows, it's easy to revert to hiring specialists and building out narrowly defined roles. But it's important to maintain room for the people that can do a little bit of everything.
At the same time, don't let a boulder climber take on too much or you risk burning them out. Finding the balance between encouraging flexibility and not stretching people too thin is critical. Figure out what your boulder climbers are best at and encourage them to be involved in those specific areas, rather than every facet of the entire business.
The impact on organizational agility
The benefits of cultivating boulder climbers go beyond just individual performance. I've seen how an adaptable, multi-skilled team can transform an organization. Startups that embrace this model tend to be more flexible, efficient and responsive to market changes. Boulder climbers enable a leaner team structure that can eliminate unnecessary layers of management, creating a more nimble company overall.
At all of my past ventures, I've intentionally kept our teams small and versatile. Rather than over-hiring, the other leaders and I have built internal tools to automate much of our reporting and operations. This allows us to focus on what truly matters — helping our clients grow and innovate without getting bogged down in bureaucratic processes. We're constantly iterating and improving as we scale, all while staying lean.
Looking ahead, I believe the boulder climber paradigm will become increasingly important. As market conditions continue to shift and technologies evolve at breakneck speed, startups need teams that can adapt quickly. By building teams of boulder climbers, founders can position their companies to stay agile and respond effectively to challenges.
Rethinking talent for the future
For founders and hiring managers, this paradigm shift means rethinking the way we define roles and assess candidates. Instead of searching for the perfect fit for a narrowly defined job description, you should focus on identifying candidates with the potential to grow and evolve with your company. Consider offering rotational programs or cross-functional projects to help develop and retain boulder climbers within your organization.
And for anyone aspiring to thrive in the startup world, my advice is to diversify your skills, stay curious and be willing to move between big-picture strategy and detailed execution. This flexibility will make you indispensable in an industry that favors adaptability.
The success of startups will increasingly hinge on their ability to build teams with a wide variety of skills. The boulder climber is not just a new hiring trend — it represents a fundamental shift in how we think about talent, organizational structure and success.
By embracing this new way of thinking, startups can build more resilient teams and be better equipped to tackle unpredictable challenges.
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