> But strongly biasing your hiring search toward people close in the social graph is a terrible idea. I don't agree with that. I think for early employees, th

> But strongly biasing your hiring search toward people close in the social graph is a terrible idea. I don't agree with that. I think for early employees, the following criteria matter most, in order: 1. Dedication and loyalty. Working in an early stage business takes dedication more than anything else. Aptitude and talent is nice, but the highly dedicated 70th percentile will be far better than the flighty 95th percentile guy. 2. Creativity. The way to solve problems early on, on a tight schedule is to be creative, repurpose what you have, and so forth. Creativity cannot be stressed enough. 3. Technical aptitude and talent. These are less important than being able to sit down, look at what you have, and shim a bunch of existing pieces together to get them to work right, or to put in long hours for deferred pay. So with this in mind, there are two reasons to focus on people closer to you socially. First, it is far easier to inspire loyalty and dedication for those you have known for a long time or have mutual friends with than it is with people you just met during the hiring process. Secondly you can have a much better sense of the creativity involved.