The Hell-Yes Work Trial
Require positive evidence and real work before making a hire
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 98%
Armstrong says startups often hire too quickly because they treat the absence of interview negatives as sufficient. His stronger threshold is “hell yes”: the candidate teaches the interviewer something, is substantially better in an important area, and leaves the conversation with more energy. Because interviews can be low-signal and some people interview better than they perform, he recommends references and, where feasible, a week or two of actual work. The trial asks whether the person independently produces useful work that advances the mission or instead requires others to repeatedly repair it. A responsible implementation must be bounded, fair, lawful, and preferably paid; Armstrong also notes that many currently employed candidates cannot participate, so the trial is evidence, not a universal gate.
Origin
Armstrong says early Coinbase sometimes invited candidates to work with the team for one or two weeks because the resulting output gave stronger evidence than interviews alone.
Core principles
- 01The absence of negatives is not enough evidence to hire
- 02A strong candidate should add capability, learning, or energy
- 03Interviews can reward interview skill rather than job performance
- 04A bounded work trial can reveal useful output and collaboration directly
How to run it
- 1
Define useful output
State what mission-relevant work a strong person in the role should produce. Make the assessment criteria visible before meeting candidates.
Pro tip Choose outputs the candidate can influence within the assessment window.
- 2
Seek affirmative signal
During conversations, look for exceptional capability, learning, and increased energy rather than merely checking that no concern appeared.
Pro tip Ask what the candidate does materially better than the current team.
Watch out Energy and similarity can introduce bias; anchor the judgment in role evidence.
- 3
Check delivery evidence
Use references or work samples to examine what the person actually completed and how they collaborated. Do not rely on interview fluency alone.
Pro tip Ask references for a concrete example of independent delivery.
- 4
Run a bounded trial
Where feasible and lawful, agree a short piece of realistic work with clear scope and compensation. Avoid extracting speculative free labour.
Pro tip Use a self-contained problem that resembles the role without exposing sensitive systems.
Watch out Do not penalise candidates who cannot pause an existing job for a trial.
- 5
Review contribution
Assess useful output, independence, judgment, communication, and alignment with the mission. Note how much repair or curation others had to provide.
Pro tip Collect evidence from everyone who directly observed the work.
- 6
Require a strong yes
Hire when the combined evidence is strongly positive, not because the seat is empty or the process has taken too long. Reopen the search when the threshold is not met.
In the wild
Armstrong says early Coinbase sometimes worked with prospective hires for one or two weeks. The team could then observe whether someone delivered useful work that advanced the mission or required substantial editing and intervention from others.
→ The hiring decision gained evidence from real contribution rather than interview performance alone.
Common mistakes
Hiring on no objections
A candidate can avoid obvious negatives without supplying affirmative evidence that they will raise the team's capability.
Confusing charisma with delivery
Interview skill may not predict useful output, judgment, or low-friction collaboration.
Using exploitative trials
A trial should be bounded, fair, lawful, and not a route to unpaid production work.
Is it for you?
Best for
Small or growing teams making consequential hires where a realistic, compensated trial is lawful and feasible.
Not ideal for
Hiring contexts where work trials are unlawful, inaccessible, exploitative, or impossible for employed candidates.
From the transcript
“they treat the absence of any negatives as a reason to hire”
“you can de-risk a lot of early hiring also by just having people come in and like try working together for a week or two”
From the episode
Coinbase Founder: The Crazy Journey Of Building A $100 Billion Company: Brian Armstrong