Hire for Curiosity, Not Credentials
The HOLYWATER co-founder says to stop chasing costly specialists and interview for curiosity instead.
Entrepreneur · Are AI-First Teams the Secret Ingredient Behind the Next Billion-Dollar Startups?The co-founder of HOLYWATER, a company that builds streaming and reading apps, writes that tomorrow's unicorns, by which he means startups valued at more than $1 billion, "will be built by creative generalists leveraging AI." To keep up, he says to "change your strategy immediately."
His hiring version of that change is direct: "Stop chasing expensive developers — look for curious minds with strong problem-solving skills."
He offers one interview prompt with two parts: "Ask what podcasts, lectures and books the person likes and how they approach challenges — this will tell you a lot."
That quoted prompt is all he gives about how to judge curiosity. My own suggestion, not his, is to try that prompt in your next interview and write down the specifics you hear, so you can compare candidates later.
Questions people ask
What does the founder mean by a generalist?
In general use, not the founder's definition, it means a worker who can handle different kinds of tasks and learn new tools. The founder does not define the term further in these lines beyond linking it to curiosity and problem solving.