The Power of Obsession and EQ
Beth Nevins doesn’t just hire for growth, she hires for edge. As founder of Developer, and former People leader at CloudNC and Tarabut Gateway, Beth has built teams from scratch, coached startup CEOs, and placed everyone from hungry entry-level operators to world-class COOs. But what really sets her apart is her philosophy: great hires aren’t just qualified, they’re obsessed, edgy, and able to grow faster than the company around them.
In this episode of the DexFactor Podcast, Beth breaks down the real differences between good and great, and shares battle-tested lessons from the front lines of talent in early-stage startups. From sniffing out attitude to surviving founder chaos, this episode is packed with practical insight and sharp truths.
The Standout Hires That Shaped Her Career
Beth has made hundreds of hires across her career, but a few still stand out.
Sally Kennard, a recruiter she hired into CloudNC, had deeper manufacturing knowledge than Beth herself. With unmatched intuition and EQ, Sally helped build a factory team with low attrition and high success, rare in that space.
Then there’s Jenna, hired at Tarabut as a very early-career operations professional. Her hunger, intelligence, and speed of learning meant Beth could give her increasingly complex work, and she kept up with a business that was scaling fast.
These people didn’t just meet expectations. They made Beth better. They brought something she didn’t expect, but desperately needed.
What Makes a Great Hire? Beth’s 8-Point Framework
Beth has thought deeply about the difference between good and great, and she’s built a framework around it:
Good is interested. Great is obsessed. The best people are dialled in. They care deeply.
Good is reliable. Great is edgy. They push boundaries. They don’t play it safe.
Good delivers. Great improves delivery. Speed, quality, creativity, it all goes up.
Good meets expectations. Great exceeds them. They go the extra mile when it counts.
Good is consistent. Great gives you growth. Think hockey-stick trajectories.
Good meets your standard. Great has their own, and it’s higher. They make you raise your game.
Good solves the core problem. Great handles the edge cases too. Breadth and depth.
Good is content. Great has something to prove. They’re ambitious. They want more.
Beth is blunt: if someone isn’t pushing the pace, raising the bar, or showing you new ways of thinking, they’re probably just good. And in a startup, good might not be enough.
Coaching the Edgy Ones
Beth admits that great hires often require more time. “The good ones, you can let run,” she says. “The great ones? You have to spar with them.”
They try new things. They ask forgiveness, not permission. Sometimes they ruffle feathers. But the payoff is worth it.
She once had a recruiter who, while out walking his dog, turned around mid-walk because a hard-to-reach candidate replied on Slack. “That’s what startups need,” she says. “Someone who knows the 10-minute window matters.”
What to Look for in Interviews
Beth looks beyond CVs. What she wants is life story. Where have you shown resilience? Where have you solved problems no one trained you for? How do you respond when things don’t go your way?
She once spoke to a candidate who’d been made redundant during COVID and launched into an epic job-hunting plan. “That’s what I’m looking for,” she says. “Someone who doesn’t wait for things to happen, they make things happen.”
The key traits she screens for:
Resilience
Adaptability
A belief that most problems can be solved
Personal agency (they own their outcomes)
She values behavioral evidence far more than polished answers. “The life story is more interesting than the job story,” she says.
Why Founding Team Hires Are the Hardest, and Most Important
Beth has placed countless executives. But she’s clear: hiring for founding teams is far harder.
Why?
No brand recognition
No traction or data to show
Small, ambiguous teams
Under-market compensation
“I once mapped 1,000 engineers to make one hire,” she says. “He was in a niche team at Google, and I got him into a four-person startup. It took everything.”
Executive search is easier by comparison. “Founders have something to show by then. The challenge is closing, not convincing.”
With founding teams, you have to do both. And you only get one shot.
Red Flags and Tough Calls: When to Walk Away
Beth has pulled offers at the last minute, and it’s earned her long-term trust.
In one case, a finalist said something just off enough to raise her alarm bells. She told the CEO, “This isn’t right.” They didn’t make the hire.
Later, that same CEO became a repeat client. Why? Because Beth was brave enough to prioritise the company’s future over short-term success.
Her biggest red flags:
Autonomy without collaboration: “They want to build a fiefdom.”
Negative attitude in interviews: “If they’re rude now, imagine probation.”
Leaders who overreach before earning trust: “You have to earn the right to challenge.”
Why Some Hires Fail, And What Startups Can Do About It
Beth sees three common failure modes:
Culture clash. Values misalignment, or failure to adapt to startup pace.
Leveling issues. Underhiring or mismatched experience leads to misfires.
Negativity. A bad attitude will rot a team faster than any skill gap.
She encourages founders to think carefully about level. Too often, they bring in heads of when what they need is a hands-on VP. “The best model is a flat structure,” she says. “Strong VPs who can do the work and think strategically.”
And when it comes to culture, Beth reminds us: alignment doesn’t mean sameness. It means shared values, mutual respect, and a willingness to grow together.
Advice for Candidates: Aim Higher. Be Braver.
Beth wants candidates to stop settling.
She often sees people take the first offer. Or bend themselves into what they think a company wants. That’s a mistake.
“Where you spend your time is the biggest investment you make,” she says. “Don’t trade it for something you know isn’t right.”
Her advice:
Know your ‘why’, and test if the company shares it
Ask hard questions: What’s the real growth plan? Who’ll be your manager? What’s the culture like under pressure?
Tell your story, especially the parts that shaped your mindset
Don’t be afraid to reach out. Great companies love hearing from people with intent
Advice for Hiring Managers: Stop Playing It Safe
Beth challenges hiring managers to break out of the “fill the box” mentality.
“The best people don’t fit in a box,” she says. “They see the box and ask why it exists.”
Junior managers, in particular, often get spooked by edgy candidates. But that’s where the upside is.
Beth suggests:
Spend more time with high performers, they’ll ask more, but they’ll give more
Expand the brief if the candidate is exceptional
Hire for potential, not perfection
And most importantly: invest in onboarding. Edgy hires need support, trust, and the space to prove you right.
Obsession Wins
Beth Nevins has built a career hiring people who change the game. Not the polished. Not the perfect. The obsessed.
Her episode is a must-listen for anyone building a team, choosing their next job, or trying to understand what high performance really looks like in a startup.
At Dex, we believe the same: great hiring is about conviction, not compromise. And the best teams are built by people who believe in something bigger than themselves.
Beth’s work, and this episode, is a roadmap for how to find them.
