Why Startup Exec Hires Fail — Avoid €250K Mistakes with Diagnostic Hiring

Episode notes

What if every second leadership hire in your startup fails — costing you up to €250,000? In this episode of Startuprad.io, we uncover why so many startup executive hires flop and how diagnostic hiring is rewriting the rules of leadership selection. What You'll Learn: Why more than 50% of startup VP and C-level hires fail within 18 months The real-world cost of a mis-hire (severance, lost growth, founder burnout) How behavioral and cognitive assessments outperform gut-feel interviews How to avoid founder bias when hiring for your first VP or CSO The "First VP Dilemma" — resume readiness vs. real potential What top-performing startup leaders actually have in common Hiring timelines in the DACH region and how to plan around long notice periods Why culture-fit and self-assessment tools often fail founders Guest Spotlight: Dominik Roth , founder of the DACH #1 leadership podcast CEO Career Code , has placed over 400 executives in VC- and PE-backed startups across Europe. He’s not your typical headhunter — he’s a psychologist-turned-strategist using diagnostics to predict executive performance before a mis-hire burns your runway. Like what you hear?