As a founder, it can feel like every decision you make has the potential to be a make-or-break one. Sometimes, that’s true. Other times, that may be fear and uncertainty creeping in. Hiring your initial team, though, is undoubtedly one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a founder, and one that absolutely has the potential to drive you toward success. That’s why I have, throughout my career, put a lot of thought into improving my hiring processes, at SiMa.ai and elsewhere. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned.Look beyond the CVWe've learned that we always need to look beyond functional fit and the list of skills on a candidate’s CV when evaluating them. When we've made hiring mistakes in the past, it's almost always been because we focused too narrowly on someone’s resume.Our hiring process now involves looking at three things, in this order: Cultural fit. Functional fit. Capacity to innovate and execute. It's easy to fall into the trap of seeing a great resume, checking the boxes for functional fit, and stopping there. But that approach can lead to expensive and draining missteps.What we're really looking for is a combination of cultural alignment, functional skills and the ability to grow with the company. Our current interview and reference checking process does a good job of assessing a candidate's capacity to fit in, grow, evolve and scale with us.This approach helps us identify candidates who not only have the right skills on paper, but also have the adaptability and innovative spirit that are so crucial in our environment.Remember, a CV can tell you what a person has done, but it can't tell you how they'll perform in your unique company culture or how they'll handle new challenges. That's why our interview process digs deeper and looks at the whole person rather than just their list of accomplishments.Put culture first in early-stage hiringCulture is the cornerstone of any successful company, and it can't necessarily be taught. This is why I place such a big emphasis on cultural fit when hiring.Even though I'm no longer directly involved in every hire at SiMa.ai, our team continues to prioritize cultural alignment in our selection process. We've developed a set of core values that guide our hiring decisions, and we use them as our North Star to ensure every new team member will contribute positively to our work environment.Don't get me wrong, technical chops are important. But at the end of the day, you can teach skills. What you can't teach is how to fit into a culture. It's easier to train someone on a new programming language than it is to change how they fundamentally approach work and interact with others.As we’ve scaled SiMa.ai, we’ve made “culture first” the backbone of our hiring process, and I can't stress enough how important it is for any founder who's building their team.Leverage outside experts and trusted advisors to verify skillsAt SiMa.ai, we've found that sometimes it's valuable to bring in outside expertise to verify a candidate's skills, especially for specialized roles. For example, if we're hiring a salesperson, we might ask a trusted sales advisor to participate in the interview process.  Or for highly technical engineering positions, we might involve a specific expert to assess the candidate's capabilities. This approach helps us ensure that we're making informed decisions, particularly in areas where our internal team might not have the depth of expertise to fully evaluate a candidate's skills.Prioritize “confident humility”One of our key hiring criteria at SiMa.ai is what I like to call "confident humility." We're not looking for prima donnas or industry-shaking personalities. Instead, we want to hire people who are confident in their abilities but also humble enough to recognize their limitations and see the value of teamwork.What does confident humility look like in practice? It's someone who can speak comfortably about their achievements, but also openly discuss their mistakes and how they've learned from them. It's a person who can get knocked down but has the resilience to get back up. They understand that success is rarely an individual effort — it’s almost always the result of a well-functioning system or team.This approach has helped us build a team of capable, growth-oriented people who work well together. To be completely honest, it has also helped us avoid hiring jerks (and we all know how important that is!).Build a team that’s greater than the sum of its partsIn my experience, small companies often attract big personalities. These folks are typically highly talented and driven, which can be a great asset for a growing company — but managing these personalities can be tricky.One of my previous CEOs used to say, "A good team is a flock of eagles." It's an interesting metaphor because eagles are naturally loners — they don't typically flock together.The real skill as a leader in a small company is figuring out how to get your "eagles" to work together effectively. It's about creating an environment where big personalities can thrive individually while also contributing to the collective success of the team.Balance is crucial. You want to harness the energy, creativity and drive of these talented team members, but you also need to build a collaborative environment where everyone works together toward common goals.