Learning a lesson

In Q2 and Q3 2017, word got out about Smith.ai. Our growth began to exceed 30% quarter over quarter, and clients were rushing in. But we couldn't hire fast enough using our existing channels. Our hiring strategy was great, but it took time. In an effort to match demand, we lowered our standards for typing speed, reading comprehension, communication, and more, believing our amazing technology and emphasis on personal improvement could make up for it. As you can probably guess, that's not what happened. We lost a few customers over typos and mishandled calls, and quickly changed course to get back on track.

We lost a few customers, sure, but the result improved our company: We created a highly-regimented, wide-funnel hiring pipeline, made our high standards concrete, built thorough automated tests before the candidates even talked to us, and found new, reliable sources for extremely high quality candidates.