Hiring Merit

American companies are in a crisis of broken talent filters. We reflexively screen for the same stale credentials: Ivy League degrees, FAANG experience, "prestigious" employers. It's a modern version of the credentialist bureaucracy that has crept into every American institution. And just like in government, this risk-averse checkbox mentality is making our companies dumber and less competitive.

The problem is twofold. First, we're stuck using outdated proxies that poorly predict real capability. A self-taught programmer who has shipped multiple products often has more relevant skills than someone with years of Java maintenance at a big tech company. An entrepreneur who has built and sold a small business typically has sharper business instincts than an MBA who has only analyzed case studies.

Second, and more damaging long term, we have no good systematic way to discover & assess exceptional talent that doesn't fit traditional molds. We know these brilliant founders and engineers are out there – we've backed them. But finding them is still too dependent on chance encounters and personal networks. While wasting time checking credential boxes and virtue signaling about DEI, we're missing our chance to build infrastructure that could actually discover and empower America's best talent.

At 8VC & Slow, we're developing objective tests that measure what actually matters: raw intelligence, problem-solving ability, and the capacity to adapt & execute. This isn't about completely eliminating credentials – degrees and experience still matter. But they should be factors in a comprehensive evaluation, not binary filters that exclude great people before we even meet them.

This matters far beyond Silicon Valley. America's dynamism has always come from our ability to identify and empower exceptional talent, regardless of background. The Manhattan Project didn't succeed by checking credentials or following quotas – it won by finding the most capable physicists and engineers and letting them work. When America needed to accomplish something truly difficult, we knew how to prioritize substance & merit.

Join us in building this new meritocratic infrastructure. If you're a founder or enterprise leader tired of missing great talent, work with us to implement and refine these assessments. If you're an expert in designing this shape of assessment, let's collaborate. America's frontier is in unlocking our hidden talent – and we choose MEI as our path forward.

Regards,

Joe Lonsdale and Sam Lessin

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