Unlocking the Key Traits of an Exceptional VPE for Startup Success

Name: Unlocking the Key Traits of an Exceptional VPE for Startup Success
Uploaded: 2023-08-19T14:00:27+00:00
Duration: 49 s
Channel: Jason M. Lemkin
Description: In this segment, speaker Jason M. Lemkin outlines the core attributes founders should evaluate when hiring a Vice President of Engineering (VPE). He…

19 Aug 2023 · 1 min

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In this segment, speaker Jason M. Lemkin outlines the core attributes founders should evaluate when hiring a Vice President of Engineering (VPE). He identifies four primary dimensions: proven management experience, deep technical ability, recruiting/networking strength, and strategic thinking competence. Lemkin emphasizes that most candidates excel in only a subset of these areas, leading to trade‑offs—e.g., a world‑class technologist may lack experience managing large teams, while a seasoned manager may not be a top‑tier engineer. He advises founders to consider how their own strengths complement the VPE’s gaps, using examples of differing candidate profiles to illustrate the decision matrix.

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So for example, a VPE, let's be specific. There's two kinds of things that you want in a VPE. One is, let's say, proven ability to manage, and one is a lot of like technical ability, like, so there's manage, technical ability, recruiting, a bunch, a little bit of strategy, strategic thinking, at least being competent in understanding it. I would take a bet that they don't have one of those things. Like if they had an A+ experience in one, like they're just like cutting edge technologists, and you know that they have a network of people that really respect them, so they're probably gonna recruit well, but they haven't proven they can manage a team of 50 people, they've only managed a team of 7. I might take that bet. Or conversely, someone who's managed a team of 100 and isn't a world-class technologist, but the rest of the team is, including let's say me as the founder. Let's say I was a world-class technologist,