In this episode, Amir sits down with Girish Mirchandani, Head of Talent at WestBridge Capital, to unpack the nuances of executive recruiting across stages and geographies. From Series A scrappiness to global scale-ups, they explore what makes a successful hire, how founders should engage in the process, and why hiring for today often trumps hiring for tomorrow. Girish also offers a behind-the-scenes look at managing cross-border buildouts and aligning stakeholders on both sides of the globe.
Hire for the stage you're in: Optimizing for the current growth phase is more practical than over-indexing on future readiness.
Best athlete vs. exact fit: Founders should balance domain expertise with leadership traits and adaptability when hiring executives.
Founder engagement matters: Weekly, structured check-ins and full-team involvement in hiring create alignment and momentum.
Cross-border hiring works—with discipline: Time zones and cultural fluency can be overcome through consistent communication and a shared entrepreneurial mindset.
“Hire for now. If you can find someone who gets you from $5 million to $100 million, you’re lucky—but it’s rare. Hire based on track record and get to the next milestone.” – Girish Mirchandani
00:00 – Intro: Meet Girish Mirchandani and WestBridge Capital’s investment thesis
02:25 – Stage-specific recruiting: Why all stages are hard, but Series A brings unique founder challenges
03:43 – Best athlete vs. exact domain match: How to calibrate a search effectively
05:52 – Hire for now, not forever: The practical approach to reducing executive churn
07:44 – Founder involvement: Weekly calls and programmatic hiring with full team participation
10:15 – Candidate POV: Understanding founder imprint and building relationships early
14:38 – Small touches that win candidates: Advice for founders to show care beyond comp
15:55 – Cross-border hiring: How WestBridge handles global team build-outs
18:24 – Cultural fluency: The importance of global mindset and entrepreneurial drive
