Ben Peterson

Weather delays. Compliance gaps. Lost days and lost dollars. Every contractor knows the pain. Pavewise, based in North Dakota and built by operators who’ve lived it, has just raised a $2.5M seed round led by C2 Ventures Fund II, alongside Connetic Ventures, Service Provider Capital, M25, gener8tor 1889, and Broadwater Capital. Their platform brings real-time compliance, weather, and production tracking to road construction, helping crews make better calls, cut rework, and keep projects on time. This is exactly what we mean when we talk about our thesis, Dirty, Dull, and Dangerous innovation: solving real operational problems in essential industries with durable tech. https://lnkd.in/eecPMHdN

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“Can I terminate an employee for something they said online?” It depends, and in California, the answer is more complex than you might think. In the wake of recent events and rising concerns around online conduct, we’ve heard this question more frequently from our clients at Infinium HR. While you do have a duty to maintain a safe, respectful workplace, not all speech, especially off-duty or online, qualifies as grounds for termination. Here’s what you need to know: On-duty speech: Employers generally have more legal ground to act if speech occurs during work hours, on company systems, or in a way that directly disrupts the workplace or violates company policy. Off-duty speech: Speech made outside of work and on personal time, while possibly offensive, is protected in many cases, even if it’s controversial or unpopular. However, if it incites violence or reflects poorly on the company, there may be cause for concern. Acting without proper review could open the door to wrongful termination claims, especially in California where employee protections are strong. Before taking action, always: Evaluate context: Was the speech hate-based, violent, or threatening? Assess the impact: Could it damage workplace safety, morale, or reputation? Consult legal or HR experts: Don’t guess. Get proper guidance. We’ve published a blog to help you understand the legal landscape and best practices around speech-related terminations. Be proactive and discuss with your employees how we can all work together to promote safe, respectful, and legally sound workplaces. https://bit.ly/464eSpq . . . #CaliforniaHR #OffDutySpeech #WorkplaceSpeech #EmploymentLaw #HRSupport #WorkplaceSafety #InfiniumHR #SmallBusinessHR #ComplianceMatters #OnlineSpeechPolicy #WorkplaceRespect

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Expediting straight to onsite? It's the new move some talent-dense teams are using to win in this market. And this isn't some hack that only three-person YC teams are using -- we're hearing of multi-billion $ AI household names moving just as quickly here too. It's all because of a brutal reality: If you want to hire top engineers in SF or NYC, it's more challenging now than it ever was. We're seeing good candidates go off the market in as little as 2-3 weeks. So if you miss the timing window or move just a tad too slowly, it's easy to get surprised. But doing this requires a dialed-in screening process. You have to use the first call to get some clear signals on technical skill. It can't just be a casual vibe check. And the best founders and hiring managers know how to finesse this and still keep it casual. Best of all, the strongest engineers are also doing their due diligence on each team they interview with. So when a team can quickly read their skillset and is practical about moving fast screen them robustly, that can get great candidates excited as well (not to mention saves them time!) It's a win-win on all fronts -- but it's never easy to do this right.

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Weekly musings: recruiting as comp advantage, impact of checkpoints on model performance, degrees of weirdness, Deel spy, more on rare minerals mining, & of course tariffs.... 1. Recruiting as huge competitive advantage: Perhaps hot take, but recruiters are suboptimal at best. If you have an incredible network or an eye for recruiting it's a huge competitive advantage in short and long term. Something I've started to screen more for in evaluating investments. (s/o to Katie Siegel btw they are hiring). 2. Impact of checkpoints on model performance: A "checkpoint" is essentially clicking command + S on a model. The bigger the model, the bigger the save. When you save, GPUs idle. The more you improve efficiency around checkpoints, the better it is for the model thereby reducing runtime and saving money. I was intrigued about this as a lever for performance, but turns out this really is only a problem at massive scale. Way bigger fish to fry at small scale. In some ways, a bit of a dead end in my learning around optimizing models. 3. Degrees of Weirdness: Evaluating levels of "weirdness" in founders-- uniqueness or non-conformity as an absolute asset, but too far out and there is funding/business risk. It's like the goldilocks of weirdness - you want just right. It can lead to strong culture, strong vision, and a raison d'être in all the right ways. Perhaps even more important on consumer side. (s/o to Natalie Dillon) 4. The Deel Spy: No commentary needed. Just an absolutely insane story. 5. Increasing pressure on rare mineral and mining market: It’s easy to say “drill, baby, drill” when it comes to mining, but without a more efficient approach to both exploration and extraction, we’re facing materials bottleneck—like copper, which is needed for advancing batteries, semiconductors, and other hard-tech industries. Companies like Major Drilling are already experiencing rising demand for battery metals, and amid growing concerns around trade uncertainty and resource nationalism, I expect they’ll see strong tailwinds and increased appetite to adopt tech-solutions to improve efficiency and get more aggressive. Cool companies in the space like Durin mining, KoBold Metals, Terra.ai, Pixxel, etc. all taking different approaches to the problem. 6. Tariffs: Ugh. How can you not talk about them. I think Gavin Baker had one of the best posts here on X. Other things i've been thinking about with attempts to stay somewhat apolitical here... - For those worried about deficit and runway spending, a recession crushes both income and the time/space to cut costs. -Blanket vs. Strategic: AI included, but blanket approach has crowded out conversation as to what the US needs to produce within our borders vs. all manufacturing -Deregulation lost in the shuffle: The one thing it seemed we could all agree on as a positive seems to have lost all focus/momentum As always thanks to those who got me thinking! 🙂

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I get asked all the time about Chief of Staff comp benchmarks. Unfortunately, benchmarks don’t mean much for this role. The variability between startups is massive -- scope, level, background, vertical, and importantly, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 all swing the number far more than an average number or range. Some common misconceptions I hear: 🚫 “If we’re early stage, we should hire someone junior.” 🚫 “If we’re early stage, comp should be lower.” 🚫 “If we’re early stage, we just need a smart generalist.” 🚫 “They don’t need domain knowledge, they’ll just figure it out.” And when these assumptions don’t pan out, founders usually end up calling us for help 🙂 Ultimately, what should drive comp is the impact the CoS will have on the business, not a number pulled from a table.

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𝗟𝗼𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗜𝗙𝗔 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽 (2026), 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝗟𝗫𝗜 (2027), 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗔28 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸-𝘁𝗼-𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for SoCal hospitality. Or a once-in-a-generation staffing headache waiting to happen... Many operators want to wait and see how things develop. From what I’m seeing, starting to hire just six months before kickoff won’t cut it. And hiring is generally taking more time than it used to. The competition isn’t just the restaurant down the street. Hotels, event venues, and global brands will all be going after the same talent pool. The time to start building your leadership team is NOW. Here are a few reasons why: 1️⃣ 𝗔-𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗻𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆. While some operators hold off, the ones who move fast are already locking in solid GMs and Chefs before the market heats up. Wait too long, and you're stuck with what’s left. 2️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘄𝗮𝘆. Someone hired today has time to learn your systems, shape your culture, and actually lead. Waiting until the frenzy hits means hiring warm bodies just trying to stay afloat. 3️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴. Your top leaders will be targeted hard. Competitors will throw serious money at them. Retention plans aren’t optional anymore. They’re basic survival. 4️⃣ 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲. Even one open seat during peak times causes burnout, bad guest experiences, and lost sales. Those guests won’t come back, and they’ll tell others why. This isn’t just about filling roles. It’s about having a plan to protect your business. We’ve already started helping partners shore up their teams with the coming events top of mind. 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤�� 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢, 𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚? 🔔 Tap the bell to get notified of future posts.   𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 / 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 to join my network. EHS Recruiting Company - Southern California

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Hot take: fractional support isn’t the magic fix for every leader. If you want someone who’ll physically trail you from • meeting to meeting • answer every “fire drill” ping in seconds • or juggle admin and strategy before breakfast, please, hire full-time. I’ve seen founders desperate for all-hands-on-deck, hoping fractional is a budget loophole. It’s not. Fractional works when you need • focused strategy • clear deliverables, and a grown-up founder who’s not chained to chaos. If you need boots-on-the-ground, do-it-all support? Go permanent. If you want brainpower on call, guardrails, and sharper positioning? That’s where fractional shines. Gut-check what you really need. Fractional’s brilliant, just not for every situation. Think you might need a fractional, but not totally sure? Or maybe you just want honest answers, not a sales pitch? That’s what Slack is for: new and seasoned fractionals swapping real stories, no-bull questions, and the kind of advice you wish you’d had sooner. Come have a look! (link in comment)

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Gusto announced plans to acquire Guideline last week. This is huge news for the recordkeeping sector and a testament to the power of integrated retirement products. This acquisition is a product match made in heaven. Connecting Gusto’s payroll platform and Guideline’s recordkeeping system creates a product-first experience for the plan sponsor: everything they need to set up and manage a plan is readily available in the product. Built-in data connectivity makes plan setup entirely self-serve, which is perfect for most SMBs, who don’t have the time to sit through multiple plan design calls. Combining efforts puts Gusto and Guideline on the path to $1B in combined revenue and sets them up nicely for a future IPO. Gusto will continue to support other recordkeepers through Finch and their partner marketplace because every recordkeeper brings a different value proposition to the table. Some solutions may support complex plan designs or offer high-touch advisory services. Even while offering a first-class embedded experience through Guideline, Gusto is demonstrating the value of supporting employers’ choice in what software solutions they use and the importance of connected experiences, regardless of the provider. Congrats to Josh, Andy, and Tomer at Gusto and Kevin at Guideline.

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After 5 years in recruiting, I've figured out why most agencies fail their clients: Zero accountability. At Dover, we've built a recruiting model with accountability hardwired into its DNA: 1. We publish every recruiter's cost-per-hire metrics publicly Most agencies hide their performance. We put it on our website for everyone to see. When your recruiter knows their stats are visible to future clients, magic happens. Our average cost-per-hire ranges from $2K-$8K versus the industry standard $15K-$50K. — 2. No long-term contracts Recruiters earn your budget every single week. If you're unhappy, scale down or switch recruiters immediately. When your recruiter's paycheck depends on your ongoing satisfaction, priorities align quickly. — 3. Penalties for failed engagements If you leave Dover without making a hire, your recruiter gets financially penalized across ALL their accounts. They only win when you're hiring successfully. — Traditional agencies charge the same whether they perform or not. We've completely flipped that model. The best part: You can check all this data yourself in the link below.

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HR tech should work for HR teams—not create more work. That’s why Tilt and @ have teamed up to simplify leave of absence management. With demographic data, pay history, and schedules flowing into Tilt automatically, you can focus on what matters most: your people. 🔗 Leave processes don’t have to be messy and disjointed. Here’s how we’re fixing it → https://lnkd.in/gBQ45yqz

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At Colorado Startup Week last month, I had the honor of sitting alongside some incredibly talented fractional executives—leaders in sales, ops, finance, marketing, AI, and more—each of us building different parts of the business, but all aligned on one truth: Founders don’t just need more hands. They need experience. People who have been there, done that, and have the badge to show it. Hiring a full-time exec is a huge decision—and sometimes hiring one full time is premature. But punting on leadership entirely? That’s even riskier. There’s a sweet spot between flying solo and hiring a full-time exec. That’s where fractional work fits—embedded leadership that moves fast, goes deep, and helps founders scale without repeating every hard earned lesson. I shared what that looks like in HR: → Designing people strategy that matches the business strategy and preparing for the inflection points before they hit → Building systems that hold when the team grows → Translating founder vision into structure, clarity, and action. Fractional doesn’t mean part-time impact. It means right-sized leadership for where you are right now and set to catapult you to the next stage. Huge thanks to the Colorado Startup Week team, my fellow panelists, and the founders who showed up with such thoughtful questions and participation. If we help one company grow more thoughtfully and skillfully through the bumpy times, we did our job. https://lnkd.in/gMjbHBFd

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Most CEOs stop interviewing candidates at 20-30 employees. Evan Huck still interviews every hire at 40 people – and gets better results because of it. I sat down with Evan Huck, CEO of UserEvidence, to understand how he's maintained hiring excellence while scaling fast. What I discovered was a systematic approach to early-stage executive hiring that challenges conventional wisdom. The conversation revealed some counterintuitive insights about how to hire for roles you've never done before, when to trust your gut versus rationalize decisions, and why the urgency to fill seats often leads to expensive mistakes. Key insights from our conversation: → Role portfolio methodology: mapping 50% product marketing, 30% brand, 20% demand gen based on actual business needs → The "rationalization trap" – when you're not "beaming and stoked" about a candidate, that's your signal to stop → Function-specific evaluation (sales candidates must demonstrate multi-threaded outreach during application) → Advanced reference techniques that differentiate "would hire again" from "top 1% of career" → Why 3 weeks extra search time beats 4-6 months of performance management If you're building your founding team or upgrading your hiring process, this episode has frameworks you can implement immediately. Listen to the full conversation at whispered.com/podcast

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Most companies still treat recruitment as a service function. In high-stakes mobility and deep-tech environments, it’s a strategic lever. The cost of a slow or misaligned hiring cycle means delayed product milestones, missed validation windows, and competitors moving first. The teams that link hiring directly to technical velocity build faster and win faster. Strong recruitment IS infrastructure for execution.

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Employee posts get 8× more engagement than company posts. That stat tells you everything you need to know about how people use LinkedIn in 2025: They follow people. Not logos. And yet, most SaaS founders still pour energy into their brand page… while their personal profile gathers dust. Here’s the shift I had to make: Your company page is a brochure. Your personal page is a channel. One pushes updates. The other builds trust. If you're not showing up consistently as a founder... You're forcing your pipeline to rely on cold outbound or paid ads: Both more expensive and less efficient than founder-led visibility. What’s worked for me? → Posting insights as I learn them, not after I’ve polished them. → Showing the thinking behind the product, not just the product itself. Start there. No need to overthink it. You don’t need a strategy doc to earn attention. You just need to stop hiding behind the logo. P.S. Curious: who on your team posts regularly from their own profile? Give them a shoutout in the comments below, and let them know they're doing a great job.

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