TextQL founder: experience isn't worth hiring for — just agency, competence, character
himanshustwts · x · 2026-09-06
- TextQL founder Ethan Ding published an essay distilling all hiring advice into three pillars: agency, competence, and character — everything else can be ignored.
- His core contrarian claim: experience is not worth hiring for.
- The third pillar emerged after meeting a highly competent, high-agency candidate who demanded max cash compensation, revealing a separate character axis (integrity, morals, conviction).
- He generalizes the framework with evidence from The Nvidia Way, The Everything Store, Marc Andreessen's blog, and the Netflix culture memo, and explains how he'll implement it at his company.
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