Hiring Right: Five Questions to Guide Early Team-Building

📅 Wednesday, August 13, 2025 | 🕙 10:00 – 10:30 AM

📍 Connector Suites, Convergence Centre (999 Collip Circle)

☕ Free to attend – includes coffee and treats from Black Walnut Bakery Cafe

Kindly RSVP here

Session Overview:
Your first hires set the tone for your company’s culture and long-term growth. In this session, you’ll learn a practical framework for making confident early-stage hiring decisions.

We’ll cover five essential questions to ask before making a hire, how to assess both skills and cultural fit, and strategies for timing your hires to support sustainable growth.

Key Takeaways:

• Use a proven framework to guide early hiring decisions
• Learn how to balance skills, fit, and company stage
• Avoid common hiring missteps that can slow growth or derail culture

About the Summer Series: Smarter Strategies for Startup Growth

Presented by Western Research Parks

This free, 10-part summer series is designed to help early-stage teams in biotech, medtech, and innovation-driven sectors scale with confidence. Each 30-minute session covers a strategic growth topic — from working with Big Tech and hiring smart to building brand and securing funding.

Join us Wednesdays at 10 AM, July 9 to September 10, 2025. Register for the full journey or pick the sessions that match your goals.

🧠 Explore the full series: Click here to view all sessions

📩 Questions? Contact us here.

About the Speaker

Chris Wynder (OpenText) – Dr. Chris Wynder – Director of Marketing; Developer Programs. Chris’ decade of experience as both an IT consultant and Industry Analyst provide a unique perspective on developing solutions for customer problems. Chris has worked with companies of all sizes find the right path to success by helping them build the skills to create action plans that fit their needs.

In Chris’ first career as a scientist (Ph.D Molecular Genetics, The Rockefeller University) he saw the need for data management and process management technology to speed up clinical research and manage patient data access. This has influenced his approach to all technology problems as well as his scientific approach to GoToMarket training. In his current role, Chris focuses on developing a ecosystem of Independent Software Vendors that use OpenText technology as part of their solution. Chris and his team provide business and marketing training to OpenText partners.

You can contact Chris at crwynder@gmail.com or he blogs regularly on medium or connect with him on LinkedIn

Next Session:

Session 7 – Recruitment Readiness: Why Startups Should Always Be Recruiting

With EA Clarke and Rebecca Hawman – Wednesday, August 20, 2025