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What does it take to build real community in venture capital, and how can it shape your entire career?

In this episode of Beyond the Hire, Niamh O’Donnell shares how she went from running her own company at sixteen to working inside Ireland’s most influential innovation ecosystem and ultimately landing in the Bay Area. She breaks down how thoughtful networking opens doors, why intention matters more than transaction, and why founders and future investors should embed themselves in the right circles early on.

Niamh also offers a candid look at her work at Unusual Ventures, what makes standout founders and teams, and the traits that help people thrive in zero to one environments.

About Niamh O’Donnell: Niamh O’Donnell is the Director of Programs at Unusual, where she runs Unusual Academy and other initiatives to help early-stage founders access the right insights and connections at the right time. Her expertise stems from prior roles at 500 Global, where she led co-investor relations, Enterprise Ireland, where she helped Irish startups expand into the US, and Notre Dame’s IDEA Center, where she supported the commercialization of emerging startups. Before that, Niamh worked at the forefront of XR and generative AI at Ascend Learning and was an award-winning entrepreneur herself, lending her rare empathy to the pace and ambiguity of the zero-to-one stage. Niamh holds degrees from The University of Notre Dame, KEDGE Business School, and Dublin City University, and lives in San Francisco.

Follow Niamh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niamh-o-donnell/

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What exactly is High Slope Talent and why are the best leaders focused on finding it?

In this episode of Beyond the Hire, Dr. Heather Doshay breaks down the concept she’s become known for: identifying and developing people with high growth potential. Drawing from her experience as a venture-backed startup operator and leadership coach, Heather shares how to recognize people who not only rise quickly but elevate those around them.

She also explores what organizations can do to nurture these individuals, why traditional hiring frameworks often overlook them, and how using ‘slope’ as a lens helps build stronger, more scalable teams.

About Heather Doshay: Dr. Heather Doshay is the Founder of Waypoint Works, a coaching and embedded advisory partner helping startups scale intelligently. Previously a Partner & Head of Talent at SignalFire and the founding executive and VP of People at Webflow, she brings hard-earned operator insights to founders and their teams. She holds a doctorate in leadership, and her insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Forbes.

Follow Heather on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doshay/

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Every great company starts with the people who build it. Few people know this better than Wendy Papakostandini, who has spent nearly a decade helping founders hire and scale at Anzu Partners.

In this episode of Beyond the Hire, Wendy shares practical insights for both founders and candidates, including how to assess a company’s stability and growth potential, what thoughtful questions can reveal during interviews, why low-ego operators thrive in early environments, and when it makes sense to bring in recruiting support.

She also takes us inside her work with the Volta Foundation and the Battery Talent Census, where she’s helping one of the fastest-growing sectors in tech prepare for a massive workforce expansion.

About Wendy Papakostandini: Wendy is Head of Talent and Principal at Anzu Partners, where she leads efforts to build high-performing teams for innovative hard-tech companies. In addition, she serves as Program Director of the Battery Talent Census at Volta Foundation and co-authors the Talent section of the Annual Battery Report, the industry’s most widely read workforce analysis.

Follow Wendy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendypapakostandini/

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Eighteen years at one company feels almost unheard of today, but that’s exactly Allison Lopour’s story at CollegeWise. She joined when it was just a five-person startup and has helped scale the team to 100+ employees, while keeping a people-first culture at the center through every stage.

In this episode of Beyond the Hire, Allison reflects on what has kept her growing alongside her company for nearly two decades, how she approaches employee loyalty without making empty promises, and why unconventional career paths often create the most authentic leaders.

About Allison Lopour:
Allison Lopour is Chief People Officer at Collegewise, where she's built people-first cultures in education technology. A first-generation college graduate, she started as a college counselor and grew into strategic HR leadership, guiding distributed teams through unprecedented growth while transitioning to fully remote operations. Allison is passionate about creating environments where people can bring their authentic selves to work and thrive during periods of change.

Follow Allison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonlopour/

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How do you scale when you are ahead of the market, stepping into sales for the first time, and the only non-technical hire in the room? That was the opportunity Spencer Reich embraced when he left hedge funds to join an early AI startup before the whole world caught on.

In this conversation, he shares the lessons those experiences taught him about conviction, hiring, resilience, and how they now fuel his work with high-growth founders at The SER Group.

About Spencer Reich:

Spencer Reich is the Founder and CEO of The SER Group, a boutique advisory firm that helps high-growth companies scale smarter, from building go-to-market engines and hiring high-performing teams to leveraging AI for sharper decision-making. With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of finance, technology, and innovation, Spencer blends strategic insight with hands-on execution to help his clients grow faster and more efficiently.

Follow Spencer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-e-reich/

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What happens when a sixth-grade teacher trades lesson plans for hiring plans? For Jim Conti, it launched a career that took him from Sprout Social to dScout and now to Hyde Park Venture Partners, where he supports more than 60 portfolio companies on talent strategy.

In this episode of Beyond the Hire, Jim shares his journey from the classroom to venture capital and the lessons he’s learned along the way. We dig into why teachers often make incredible hires, how authenticity can set candidates apart, and why networking is more powerful than any job description.

Whether you’re a job seeker navigating your next move, a founder building an early-stage team, or a talent leader scaling culture, Jim’s story is a masterclass in following your passions, staying true to yourself, and creating opportunities where none exist.

About Jim Conti:

Jim Conti is the Talent Partner at Hyde Park Venture Partners and has been with the firm since 2021. In this role, Jim provides strategic talent support and consulting to the firm's portfolio of companies. Prior to Hyde Park Venture Partners, Jim served as head of people at dscout and Sprout Social — both Chicago-based software startups. In these roles, Jim built, grew, and oversaw teams across recruitment, talent management, DEI, culture, HR, and benefits strategy. The impact of this work is seen in awards from Glassdoor, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago, and Built in Chicago.

Follow Jim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/contijc/

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In this episode of Beyond the Hire, we sit down with Matt Green, co-founder and CRO of Sales Assembly, to unpack his journey from wealth management to tech sales to building one of the most trusted enablement and training communities for go-to-market teams.

Matt shares how a layoff, a little luck, and a lot of listening led him to co-create Sales Assembly. We dig into the difference between community and curation, what gifting mishaps can teach you about stakeholder relationships, and why showing up (physically and virtually) is the secret to building a powerful network.

If you’ve ever wondered how to turn a career curveball into a launchpad, or how Sales Assembly became a must-have for growing GTM teams, this one’s for you.

About Matt Green:

Matt is the Co-Founder and CRO of Sales Assembly, a skills training platform that supports the go-to-market teams of hundreds of the ecosystem's most prominent tech companies.

Matt began his career in wealth management and investment banking, before moving into the world of tech sales leadership.

He is married with a 13 year old son, and spends his spare time planning random international trips for he and his family.

Follow Matt on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthewcorneliusgreen

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In this special Before the Hire edition of Beyond the Hire, we flip the script. Instead of talking to CROs and sales leaders, we go straight to the source: the recruiters who help get them there.

Betts veterans Melissa Hirsch and Cassie Zaffanella join us to break down what really matters when you’re job hunting—from CV and LinkedIn tips to red flags (like over-designing your resume… or farting on a screening call). They share how to stand out in a crowded market, how to work with a recruiter the right way, and the one question you should always be ready to answer.

Whether you’ve been laid off, are ready to make a move, or just want a peek behind the recruiting curtain—this is the episode for you.

About Melissa Hirsch:

Melissa Hirsch is a seasoned recruiter with a track record of helping early-stage SaaS companies scale at the enterprise level. As a Principal Recruiter who's been with Betts for 10 years, she’s worn many hats—from recruiting coordinator to senior strategic partner.

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About Cassie Zaffanella:

Cassie Zaffanela brings over a decade of experience in the tech industry and was one of the founding Executive Recruiters at Betts, where she played a key role in building out the department.

Follow Cassie on LinkedIn