<p>Most startups hire fast. But is that the right hiring strategy?</p><p>In this episode of Women Disrupting Tech, I talk with Relinde Boerman, lead recruiter at PolarSteps. This travel app startup scaled from 20 to nearly 100 employees while maintaining the culture that made it special. </p><p>We explore why PolarSteps ignores time-to-hire as a metric, how they assess culture fit beyond vague feelings, and what it takes to build a talent-dense team that doesn&#39;t compromise on values.</p><p>Relinde explains how clearly defined values become hiring criteria, why curiosity matters more than perfect clarity in a scaling environment, and how their &quot;day at the office&quot; interview process reveals what traditional interviews miss.</p><p>This episode is for female founders, startup leaders, and anyone building a team who wants to understand how to scale without sacrificing the culture that makes your company special.</p><p><strong>What you&#39;ll learn in this episode</strong></p><p>- Why time-to-hire is the wrong metric for culture-driven startups</p><p>- How to translate abstract company values into concrete hiring behaviors</p><p>- What &quot;talent density&quot; means and why it matters more than headcount</p><p>- Why hiring &quot;overqualified&quot; people for first-of-kind roles is a smart strategy</p><p>- How a full-day interview reveals what 3 rounds of traditional interviews can&#39;t</p><p>- What it takes to maintain culture while scaling from 20 to 100 employees</p><p><strong>Chapters</strong></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>02:02 Relinde&#39;s Journey to Polarsteps</p><p>04:47 The Growth of Polarsteps</p><p>07:20 Maintaining Company Culture During Rapid Growth</p><p>10:23 The Importance of Values in Recruitment</p><p>12:54 Hiring for Culture Fit15:38 Assessing Cultural Drift</p><p>17:54 Defining Company Values</p><p>20:05 Embedding Values in the Hiring Process</p><p>22:15 Curiosity as a Cultural Element</p><p>25:12 Balancing Clarity and Ambiguity in a Fast-Paced Environment</p><p>27:58 The Role of Leadership in Culture</p><p>30:14 High Impact, Talent Density, and Values</p><p>33:10 Navigating Commercial Pressures in Hiring</p><p>35:43 Addressing Hiring Mistakes</p><p>38:15 The Day at the Office: A Unique Hiring Approach</p><p>40:59 Onboarding and Settling In</p><p>43:42 Fostering Belonging in a Hybrid Setup</p><p>46:51 Career Growth and Internal Mobility</p><p>49:23 Hiring a New CEO</p><p>52:19 Advice for Female Founders</p><p>55:15 Closing Thoughts and Resources</p><p><strong>Connect with Relinde Boerman and PolarSteps</strong></p><p>Relinde Boerman on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/relindeboerman/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://www.linkedin.com/in/relindeboerman/</a></p><p>Polarsteps on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/polarsteps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://www.instagram.com/polarsteps/</a></p><p>Polarsteps website: <a href="https://www.polarsteps.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://www.polarsteps.com/</a></p><p>Polarsteps careers: <a href="https://careers.polarsteps.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://careers.polarsteps.com/</a></p><p>🎧 Listen to Women Disrupting Tech on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.</p><p>👉 Subscribe for more conversations on building sustainable, culture-driven tech companies.</p>