Founders often ask me:
“What do you look for in a new hire?”
My answer hasn’t changed in years.
We use a framework called HOUSE+Q — six traits that have shaped our team, culture, and company trajectory.
These aren’t just nice-to-have values.
They’re the core qualities we screen for in every interview.
Here’s what each letter stands for — and why it matters.
H: Hunger
We only hire people with something to prove.
We want ambitious candidates who set big career goals — and chase them hard.
If someone plays it safe in interviews, we pass.
Hunger isn’t optional. It’s fuel.
O: Opinionated
We don’t hire yes-people.
We expect everyone to have a perspective and share it — even if it’s uncomfortable.
Innovation comes from tension, not agreement.
Disagreeing respectfully is a job requirement.
U: Urgency
This was our first and most important value.
In our earliest days, urgency kept us alive.
Speed beat perfection — and it still does.
We hire people who bias toward action and move quickly under pressure.
S: Systematic
Growth without systems is chaos.
Every high-performer at Panoptyc builds repeatable processes — even for creative work.
We want thinkers who ask:
“How can I make this scalable?”
Not just “How can I get it done?”
E: Empowered
No great team is built on silence.
We expect every person — from interns to execs — to speak up, ask questions, and raise red flags.
If something’s unclear or broken, you’re empowered to say so.
If you’re waiting for permission, we’re not the right place.
Q: Quality
We added this last.
Early on, we only cared about getting things done fast.
But we realized speed without standards leads to messes we’d just have to clean up later.
Now, quality is non-negotiable — because sloppy work slows you down more than anything else.
Why This Hiring Framework Works
The HOUSE+Q model helps us do three things:
- Filter for long-term builders — not just short-term executors
- Create healthy internal tension — where ideas are challenged, not rubber-stamped
- Move fast without breaking trust — by pairing urgency with quality
It’s not perfect. We still make hiring mistakes.
But this framework has helped us scale without losing our edge.
And if you’re building a team in a high-stakes space like AI, retail, or security — I highly recommend making your own version.
Because the traits you hire for today become the culture you live with tomorrow.