before giving me 20 slides please inform me of how many people you have hired and what you think there average salary was. Perhaps some stats about how long they stayed or other figures you find important. These tips sounds bland.

The main case that 1-3 month trial periods don't work for is when the person you're considering hiring already has a good job, esp. one that they like. This is often/usually the case when you're talking about top tier talent. Want to try selling a stud on coming to work for you for a bit for a chance at a real job?

Even if it's a tiny one-week project. It would be helpful to know everything about how they work before you gave them equity.

That's why you have vesting.

The event was "Startup Hiring: I've hired all my friends - now what?"

http://www.finance4founders.com/2009/10/19/startup-hiring-i%...

But it was an excellent post, and the slides are worth looking at too.

Don't hire hacks, hire people who are talented.

In my defense, it was a pun too obvious to resist.

And honestly, I think of a hack as a quick and/or dirty technique to get the job done (even if its ugly or imperfect, or falls apart under scrutiny). A hack is a shortcut of some sort.

Hiring seems like a situation where cutting corners is a bad idea with little to no payoff.

While the article was good, I don't see how these observations are hacks. Unless taking your time and being thorough is the hack. (By my definition, it is an anti-hack.)

nice post