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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/