Here's the secret: there is no secret ("There is no spoon, Neo.") GE's hiring practices, although touted quite a lot in Topgrading (which was recommended to me

Here's the secret: there is no secret ("There is no spoon, Neo.") GE's hiring practices, although touted quite a lot in Topgrading (which was recommended to me by Mint.com's CEO), may not necessarily work in your case. But the underlying principle of "hire the smartest people" is a theme throughout the book that ties into a bunch of general themes I've seen from many start up success stories. I don't actually like to read books on this stuff, I'd rather study the people who started the company and hear it directly from them. Across the board, I've heard a pattern of things. I'll grab a few from this: http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html 1. Hire smart people (#6) 2. Launch fast, iterate a lot (#8) 3. Be frugal (#12) 4. Hustle like crazy (#18) 5. Don't be afraid to take risks (#16) * This is not a deal breaker. Use anecdotes for inspiration, nothing else. There are way too many variables that you aren't seeing or accounting for.