Episode 45: The Intersection of Talent Acquisition and Economic Development Sustainability
Featuring:
Co-hosted by Endeavor Western New York
SQUIRE developed the first all-in-one technology-enabled point-of-sale and business management system specifically designed to cater to men’s barbershops and salons. Co-founded by Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon in 2015, the team has seen incredible growth and certainly knows a thing or two about talent acquisition, developing a high productivity team and building a sustainable community starting from the c-suite. Listen to hear how they are transforming local economies, one salon at a time. This episode is co-hosted by Endeavor Western New York Managing Director, John Gavigan.
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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
(06.15) John asks, “How does the company intentionally retain the best people particularly in markets we are seeing today?”
(06.39) Dave and Songe say, “That’s a good question.” “The biggest thing that any company can cultivate that will help with this is really culture. From the beginning, we have been creating an environment where people feel like they are part of something.”
(09.30) John asks, “Reid Hoffman says that your first 150 hires are your ‘cultural co-founders’ and it is the founders’ job to get every one of them right. To what degree do SQUIRE’s core values factor into your hiring decisions?”
(09.55) Songe says, “It is definitely part of the hiring process. Early on it was a lot easier to make sure that people we bring on are good fit culturally. As you scale and grow, you have to build that culture into your process. The part of the hiring process is the HR interview, which is really geared towards culture and values less about scale. It is for both ways. Is Squire good for them and are they good for Squire?”
(11.42) Dave says,“Those behavioral questions are important.” “It is all pattern matching and usually red flags are consistent among those cohorts of people who act the same.You want to look for the commonality between high performing workers and low performing workers."
(15.56) John asks, “Could you educate us on what you are doing really differently during scale? How have things changed?”
(16.25) Dave explains, “Things are changing everyday. One particular is having employees get a second look from Human Resources. HR professionals are talking with everybody, so they can recognize these traits across the organizations. If something doesn't feel right, they can put a stop to it and trust your intuition.”
(29.50) John asks, “What do you think are the most important lessons as you reflect on making some of those challenging decisions that didn't work out so well?”
(29.56) Songe says, “Some of the stuff we mentioned earlier about screening and referral. We learned them from the experiences. We should have done better. Another one is getting insurance.”
(31.17) John asks, “Any other comments or recommendations?”
(31.23) Songe says, “Employees are the bedrock of a company. Your employees are your greatest asset. You need to invest in them, protect them, encourage them, and do anything in your power to make them succeed. If you do that you are much more likely to be successful as a company.”
(32.10) Dave says, “A company is a collection of people. A collection of people working toward a singular goal, so that collection needs to be cared for and it needs to be invested in. Ultimately, that community will do things to return that investment.”
ABOUT SONGE LARON AND DAVE SALVANT
Songe LaRon (CEO, pronounced ‘Song’) and Dave Salvant (President) both grew up with a deep appreciation for their time spent with their barber on a monthly basis. Songe received his B.A. from UCLA, graduating cum laude before going to Yale to receive his J.D. After law school, he spent four years practicing as a corporate attorney at the prominent Skadden Arps firm in its M&A division. Dave earned his B.A. in Political Science from SUNY Albany, worked in corp. finance and sales at J.P. Morgan and AXA. The two met while launching their careers in New York City and became friends. As they got to know one another, one of the sentiments they both shared was a desire to become entrepreneurs and apply their skills in building a business. On the side, while Songe continued to work as a corporate attorney and Dave received his MBA from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, the two began to brainstorm ideas and conduct market research on the concepts they felt could generate long-term value and solve their own pain points.