Crafter’s Morgan Spenla on delighting makers with memberships, materials, and a marketplace | E1209

Company Culture

Building a strong company culture is crucial for startups, as Morgan Spenla and Jason Calacanis discuss. Morgan shares her experience of transitioning from wearing multiple hats to establishing a leadership team, which has allowed her to focus on strategic growth areas. Jason emphasizes the importance of delegation, noting that it allows founders to concentrate on their strengths and enjoy running their companies more.

When your company hits some level of profitability and it's maybe even highly profitable, you say, you know what, I'm going to take some of this profit, and I'm going to hire a chief operating officer or a director of content.

--- Jason Calacanis

Morgan highlights the significance of hiring experts to drive growth, allowing her to focus on new ventures like a two-sided marketplace 1 2.

   

Hiring Techniques

Effective hiring techniques are vital for maintaining a talented workforce. Morgan reveals her strategy of hiring former Starbucks employees for customer service roles, valuing their ability to handle demanding customer interactions with empathy and patience. Jason praises this approach, recognizing the unique skills these employees bring to startups.

My brain just lit up on fire when you said, hire Starbucks employees because and you have to finish the sentence because people yell at them if they do two pumps instead of one pump.

--- Jason Calacanis

Morgan also stresses the importance of personal networking and staying informed about industry changes to identify potential hires, ensuring a strong team that can adapt and thrive 3 4.