In the first 5 years of @airwallex, we made a massive hiring mistake. We brought in people with impressive résumés – ex-bankers, payments veterans, people who had worked on the SWIFT network. On paper, they looked perfect. In practice, they nearly broke our culture. They had a lot of experience, but they weren’t builders. They knew how things used to work, not how things should work. What we really needed were people who were curious, determined, and optimistic, who believe in the vision. We didn’t hire for that early enough – and we paid the price. Morale took a hit. Momentum slowed. It was painful to go through. The lesson? Hire for belief, grit, and the ability to build – especially early on. Because in a startup, mindset scales faster than experience. And the wrong hires can cost you more than just time – they can derail your culture.