Quick update ? Now the Growthmates newsletter and my other posts will be sent on Tuesdays (inboxes are packed with newsletters sent on Sundays). Hope you will enjoy the episode and listen to it throughout the week!Welcome to Growthmates — the place to connect with inspiring leaders to help you grow yourself and your product. Here you can learn how companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Amplitude, Canva, and many more are building excellent products and growth culture. Subscribe to get all episodes right to your inbox on katesyuma.substack.com.Listen now and subscribe on your favorite platforms — Apple, Spotify, or watch on YouTube (new!).This time I talked to Tom Scott, a founder at Verified, an invite-only design network. We revealed the myth that TOP-1% of talent includes only FAANG companies, and uncovered emerging challenges in talent acquisition, such as finding designers with strong business literacy. My favorite part was exploring the differences in hiring for early-stage startups, Series A+, and Scale-up, where we shared advice to founders who are looking for talent, as well as for anyone who is exploring a career shift. Beyond that, we discussed the future of work in the tech industry, including the rise of fractional roles and the importance of flexibility. If you find this show valuable, please share it with one of your colleagues or friends — it gives huge support to continue creating it. To receive all episodes right in your inbox — subscribe to katesyuma.substack.com This episode is supported by Appcues — the platform that helps you design, deploy, and test captivating onboarding experiences. Appcues created the Product Adoption Academy to help you level up your product adoption for free. Check out the template that I created to help companies uncover meaningful improvements. Find an example of Dropbox Onboarding inside and apply it to review any growth flows: appcues.com/growthmatesKey highlights from this episode:* The top 1% of talent varies depending on the needs of different companies and is not limited to individuals from well-known companies (like FAANG ?)* Designers need to have strong business literacy and keep up with new technologies to be successful in the current market.* The “businessification of UX” requires designers to have a growth mindset and understand the impact of their work on the organization.* Alternative career paths for designers include transitioning to product or engineering roles, working in HR or VC, or starting their own businesses (YES ?)* When hiring design talent, it is important to consider their mindset, soft skills, and growth potential, rather than just their job title or previous company. * When hiring for scale-ups, it is important to hire people who have experience working on larger teams and can navigate the politics.* The future of work in the tech industry is moving towards fractional roles and increased flexibility.* Companies should look beyond big names and focus on hiring for potential and cultural fit.For the 1st year of Growthmates, we’ve collected from dozens of leaders from Dropbox, Amplitude, Canva, Coda, Atlassian, and now I need your take.? Take a 10-min survey and get the first copy of “The PLG Playbook“?Follow Growthmates updates on:* Substack Newsletter (for instant inbox delivery): https://katesyuma.substack.com/podcast* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/growthmates-podcast/* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growthmates_/Where to find Tom Scott, founder at Verified:* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomscottt/Where to find Kate Syuma, Growth Advisor (ex-Miro):* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma/* Newsletter: katesyuma.substack.com* X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/kate_syumaWhat we’ve covered in this episode:00:00 Introduction and Background02:40 Defining the Top 1% of Talent06:32 Challenges in Talent Acquisition10:56 The Businessification of UX20:07 Role Models and Inspirations23:09 Hiring Design Talent at Different Company