Jan 1, 2016 · 25m · 20vc
20VC FF 028: Where To Start Your Startup and Single Founder vs Co-Founder Model with Richard Hanson, Co-Founder & CEO @ HiringScreen
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of The 20 Minute VC, host Harry Stebbings interviews Richard Hanson, co-founder and CEO of Hiring Screen, to discuss strategies for solving recruitment inefficiencies. Hanson shares insights on startup execution, non-technical product development, fundraising tactics, and building a business within Asia's emerging tech ecosystem.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Harry holds 26% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Harry as informed peer 1.3 Guest teaching 2.6 Guest disagreement 0.3 Harry pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is Harry, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:52 Gently rejecting the premise of founder code approval
Richard humorously rejects Harry's suggestion that non-technical founders should review and approve developer code, pointing out developers would not value his opinion.
Hardest push from Harry ▶ 12:44 Challenging non-technical founder involvement in codeHarry pushes Richard on whether a founder should actively inspect and approve code submitted by developers.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:18 Explaining the breakdown of traditional ATS and hiring techRichard educates Harry on how easy application buttons flood hiring channels, making standard ATS workflow software deeply inefficient.
Harry holds his own ▶ 6:40 Citing macroeconomic VC flow trends in Asian marketsHarry demonstrates industry knowledge by bringing up the macro rise in venture capital deployment across Asian startup ecosystems over recent years.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Harry as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Harry pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Hanson's Background and Hiring Screen's Origin | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Richard explains the origin of Hiring Screen from managing 196 CVs in his inbox, describing how job boards lower application barriers and why current ATS systems are inefficient. | |
| Building a Startup in Hong Kong and Asia's Ecosystem | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Richard shares insights on building a company in Hong Kong and the importance of having a co-founder to sense-check decisions and share pressures. | |
| Executing Ideas and Customer Validation | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Richard highlights the importance of fast execution and early customer validation, advising founders to speak directly to HR heads to verify real pain points. | |
| Product Building Tips for Non-Technical Founders | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | When asked if founders should inspect code, Richard gently reframes the point, noting that basic coding knowledge shows respect and builds credibility during recruitment. | |
| Fundraising Insights and Pitch Preparation | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Richard details pitch preparation for fundraising, emphasizing the challenge of distilling complex long-term vision into short, crisp investor presentations. | |
| Evaluating Accelerators and Swire's Blueprint | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Richard explains the benefits of non-equity corporate accelerators like Blueprint, reframing equity negotiations to focus first on immediate startup requirements. | |
| Quickfire Round: Books, Habits, and Vision | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | In a friendly quickfire round, Richard discusses corporate leadership literature, humorously notes his heart rate monitor purchase, and praises Reid Hoffman. |
Statements from this episode (13)
Hiring Screen Raised $800K Seed Round Ahead of Southeast Asia Expansion
“Since being on the show, Hiring Screen have gone from strength to strength, growing rapidly, leading to their seed round of 800,000 dollars, with plans to expand into Philippines and Indonesia.”
Hiring Screen Developed an Algorithm to Score and Rank Job Applicants
“So I got together with my co-founder, Luke Byrne, and we developed an algorithm that basically helps score, sort, and select the most relevant candidates from that pool.”
Hanson: Job application barriers are at an all-time low due to quick-apply buttons
“Because you've got, ah, quick apply buttons everywhere, the barrier to application is, I would say, it's an all-time low.”
Hanson: Most recruitment tech merely pushes candidates into lateral career moves
“Nowadays most recruitment technologies or recruitment agencies are simply trying to move people laterally, so they'll say, you have this skill set and profile, this matches this job, whereas it doesn't always work like that, and sometimes people actually want …”
Hanson: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan Are Top Asian Startup Hubs
“I would say in terms of location, if you're talking about Asia, you probably want to go somewhere where there's a good startup community and support environment. So Hong Kong, Singapore's very good. Japan's also well developed.”
Hanson: Friends and family cannot offer co-founder level startup advice
“People, friends, family, they're always there to give advice, but ultimately they're not seeing the same challenges and pressures day to day that your co-founder is, so you're not going to get you know, the same level of advice with the same level of buying as…”
Hanson Learned Basic HTML and CSS on Codecademy for Technical Literacy
“For myself, not having a technical background, I mean, I went on to Code Academy and you know, I took the HTML and you know, CSS course just so that I actually knew what, you know, title tags were and how to do basic CSS.”
Hanson: Non-Technical CEOs Must Learn Technical Basics to Recruit Engineering Talent
“He needs to feel confident that he can put them in front of me, and I'm going to be able to talk with a basic knowledge about what that developer's been doing in his past history. Ultimately, as CEO, I need to be able to attract talent right the way across the…”
Hiring Screen Closed Its $800K Seed Funding Round in Eight Weeks
“Quick disclaimer, this show was recorded before the funding round, but Hiring Screen have gone on to raise the funding in eight weeks.”
Hong Kong's Blueprint Accelerator Takes Zero Equity in Participating Startups
“They don't take any equity in the startups, which is fantastic compared to a lot of other accelerator programs.”
Hanson: Founders should assess startup needs before prioritizing accelerator equity terms
“In my opinion, I would have thought that the idea about how much equity you're willing to give up should come a little bit later on.”
Hiring Screen Uses Reid Hoffman's 'Tour of Duty' Framework for Product
“I think it's a very refreshing take on things, and some of the principles that they talk about in that book, like the tour of duty concept of employment, those are some of the principles that we actually have underpinning hiring screens development as a produc…”
Hanson: Reid Hoffman stepping down as LinkedIn CEO was smart and selfless
“I did promise that I'd divert everybody to Founders Friday episode two for more on that but my serious answer is going to be Reid Hoffman and I know I mentioned him before with the Alliance, but I think in terms of a founder who, one of the things I really adm…”