In working at, consulting for, partnering with, and advising numerous startups, angel-funded to unicorn to post-IPO, I’ve observed numerous companies grow and crash, grow and succeed, or not grow at all. There are many ways a company can fail, and many factors that lead to a company’s success (including luck), but I’ve confirmed key traits in culture that are consistent among successful companies - hiring the right people.

Most companies claim to hire “smart people, no jerks” but few actually act on it. To truly execute well, one needs to understand what to really look for. With modern studies in neuropsychology (including entertaining studies of chimpanzees), we can now understand why hiring good people can be hard, and what we can do differently.

Let’s review a few of these modern studies and apply them to success and failure in the technology industry.

Hint: hiring diversity, empathy and “the right Type As” are key, but it’s easier said than done