26-year-old billionaire reveals interesting reason why he doesn't hire from big tech companies
You can't escape from the word 'AI' because it's everywhere, but you might not be so familiar with Alexandr Wang in the tech world.
The 26-year-old billionaire is the co-founder and CEO of Scale AI, a company that provides training data for AI applications like self-driving cars and robotics.
Wang was recently a guest on the Logan Bartlett Podcast on YouTube where he spoke about future AI predictions, the driving factors behind his company, and what he looks for when hiring candidates.
This is an interesting take as it's not often we get insights from smaller startups - even though they can become just as successful as the big tech giants when led by right-minded people.
Advert
Wang has an interesting take on the people he hires. It doesn't always boil down to who has the most experience or is most confident.
In the interview, he explained that he doesn't hire people from large tech companies for one specific reason.
'It's very hard for somebody at a big tech company to have any sort of real impact,' Wang said.
He clarified that by hiring so many people at these huge firms, they have a 'limited scope of problems that really matter' and in fact, recruit based on 'optimising brand and status relative to impact.'
So, 'a lot of people they hire just end up working on a teeny piece of a teeny piece [...] of a problem.'
In contrast, for his startup, Wang prefers to hire people 'who don't care about status but care a lot about impact.'
He believes that this approach brings together hardworking individuals who may not necessarily be 'super experienced' but can 'build incredible things.'
These types of employees aren't focusing on landing the biggest job, or bragging to their friends, as chances are 'they won't because it's a startup.'
Instead, they can see where they slot in and how they can make a difference among a small team of employees.
Later in the interview, Wang highlighted the qualities that he seeks in potential employees including: a high locus of control, problem-solving skills, an impressive spirit (i.e. people who go the extra mile) and easy to collaborate with. After all, you can possess all these qualities but still 'suck to work with.'