OpenBlend is a people-centric performance management platform, focusing on moving conversations between management and team to go beyond objectives.

Anna worked as a leadership development coach for 16 years, so has plenty of experience teaching effective leadership. And 7 years ago, Anna founded OpenBlend- working in her loft with 2 team members- including her children’s nanny.

In the 7 years since, her team of 22 have outgrown the loft and now work with big brands such as Gymshark, Princes Trust, and Superdry and are currently branching out into the US.

Anna didn’t set out to become a founder, she started from a place of identifying a problem that needed to be solved and she’s learning as she goes.

To listen to the podcast in full, click here.

From hiring for culture to the importance of a strong network, here are our key takeaways:

Hire people with cultural alignment

There’s nowhere to hide in a startup.

Anna is hesitant to hire people who’ve got no previous experience working in a startup, because she knows it’s not for everyone.

She jokes about having to take the bins out- but this is the reality of early-stage companies. You have to do everything from product design to cleaning. And it’s not always as glamourous or as sexy as Silicon Valley would have you think.

In a startup team, you need everyone banging your drum.

“The biggest thing that every single person needs to have is complete belief in the product.”

A candidate could have great experience in the startup world, come to you with big name experience and still not be a good fit for your team.

Hire people who want to grow with your business-your journeys need to be on the same path, not in completely different directions.

It’s hard to hire on a budget. Maybe you’re chasing funding or bootstrapping, and you can’t cough up high salaries.

But it’s becoming clear that people value purpose over money. Because a shared belief in your company’s mission is what you’ll need to lean back on when times get tough.

Keeping a remote team engaged 

Remote working might be here to stay. But the startup and scaleup world would struggle without the in-person collaborations that take place between a growing team.

OpenBlend have a high number of dev employees, who like working from home and enjoy the flexibility.

But different people work differently, so their office is open 3 days a week for anyone who wants to come in.

And one day a month, there’s a day where everyone is required to come in. This day is then spent together as a team, with lunch and drinks after work. Making a real effort to be together.

Anna talks about activities like coffee roulette, where you get randomly allocated another team member and you have 30 minutes to have a coffee with them and talk about things outside of work.

Lunch and learn. Where one Thursday every month, someone will teach the team about something they’re passionate about.   

And Desert Island Discs, where one team member will list 5 tracks and share the backstory of why they’re important to them.

These are light-hearted activities that don’t take up a huge amount of time but will help you to get to know your team a little bit better.

In a remote world, these interactions won’t always happen organically, you’ve got to make room for them. A strong team will set you on the path for startup success.  

Losing people doesn’t need to be negative

Many founders are still feeling the shockwaves of the great resignation.

You can’t make people stay, but “losing people doesn’t need to be negative.” If you’re feeling the pain of a bad hire, then look at your interview process.

The best way to retain talent is by providing opportunity for development. Have conversations around personal development as early as the interview stage. Allow your team to grow with your startup.

And, if and when people do decide to move on, it can be instinctual to be hurt by this loss. But there are benefits in maintaining good relationships.

We may be entering a new period in recruitment history. The Great Rebound.

People are returning to previous employers, having grown in their career, and coming back to add value in a different area.

You won’t grow a company without ever saying goodbye to a team member, but if you give people room to grow, you may welcome a few back with open arms.

A good network will help you to see your blind spots

As a female founder, Anna is mindful that she is in a minority.

But she’s a firm believer that she doesn’t need to act like a man in order to progress. The best leaders are authentic and go with their gut.

Learning to trust your gut takes time. But a good network will help you to see your blind spots.

Anna has a coach she speaks to every 2-3 weeks, helping her to navigate business decisions and bounce ideas off.

And whether its speaking to fellow founders, internal leaderships teams, or loved ones, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Regardless of whether this is your first time scaling a team or your 10th time, nobody has all the answers.

And there’s certainly no reason to go it alone.

To listen to the podcast in full, click here.

We’d love you to be our next guest on our Scaleup Diaries series. If you’re a startup founder looking to share your story, contact Alan Furley at alan@isltalent.com to find out more.