A year ago, when Chris Miller, the author of the acclaimed book “Chip War,” visited India and shared an important observation. He emphasized the urgent necessity for India to build a robust talent pool specifically focused on chip design and manufacturing. Critically, Miller pointed out that India shouldn’t delay or wait for the ideal talent ecosystem to naturally evolve. Instead, it should start making strategic investments and building capabilities immediately.
There’s a valuable lesson here for startup founders and leaders in any industry. Often, founders get stuck searching for the elusive “perfect” candidate who already possesses all the desired skills. The reality, however, is quite different—such ideal candidates rarely exist.
The smarter, more practical approach for founders is to hire the best available talent today, even if they’re not perfectly skilled or experienced yet. Once onboard, founders should actively invest in their growth, giving them the freedom and flexibility to learn, experiment, and grow on the job. This strategy ensures continuous momentum, keeping your organisation agile and adaptable.
Simultaneously, it’s wise to continuously scout for increasingly skilled talent to progressively enhance your team’s capabilities. Particularly in emerging fields like AI and large language models (LLMs), talent with complete skillsets is hard to come by. Hence, developing these skills internally through strategic training and on-the-job experience becomes critical.
The core message to founders is straightforward: don’t wait for perfection. Hire talent that’s capable, motivated, and eager to learn, and then empower them to grow into the roles you envision. By doing this, you will build a resilient, skilled, and adaptable team poised to tackle future challenges.
Watch my reel below, where I elaborate further on these essential insights:
