The three playbooks behind how we hire

We didn't invent our approach to building a team from scratch. We studied the people who've done it best, took what fits a fast-growing AI company in Islamabad and San Francisco, and wrote it into our hiring playbook.

Three sources shaped it more than any others.

1. Sam Altman's Startup Playbook

Every recruiter who joins ImagineArt starts by reading Sam Altman's Startup Playbook. It's short, blunt and still the best summary of what makes early companies work.

What we take from it:

• The bar doesn't move. The playbook is direct about it: "Mediocre teams do not build great companies." A hire who's "fine" costs more than an open seat.
• Aptitude over experience. Someone who learns fast and gets things done will outgrow someone with a longer CV. That's why we bet on hunger over pedigree.
• Focus and intensity. Do fewer things, finish them, and keep momentum. That's the energy behind shipping five integrations in a week.
• Culture comes from people decisions. Who you hire, fire and promote defines the company more than anything on a wall. More in Culture isn't branded activities.

2. Revolut's high-performance culture

Our hiring playbook links to Revolut's talk on high-performance culture and how brilliant people succeed there. Revolut built one of the world's biggest fintech companies with a set of values that are really descriptions of behaviour: Get It Done, Deliver WOW, Dream Team, Never Settle and Think Deeper.

What we take from it:

• Values you can observe. "Get it done" is something you can see in a person's last six months of work. We interview for behaviour, not adjectives.
• Results over excuses. When something is blocked, the question is how to unblock it, not whose fault it is.
• Talent is the strategy. A small team of exceptional people beats a large average one. We'd rather keep a seat open than fill it with the wrong person.

3. Bending Spoons' talent bar

Lately, Bending Spoons has become one of our biggest inspirations. They run a small, intensely capable team that takes on very large businesses, and they're unusually open about how they work. They even publish internal documents, such as how they handle hard conversations and the qualities that make someone succeed there.

What we take from it:

• Responsibility follows impact. In their words, "Responsibility is earned through impact, not prior experience." The same is true here: Saad joined to work on mobile and now leads product for ImagineArt Web.
• Small teams, big surface area. A handful of people can ship something used by millions if they're good and trusted.
• Write it down. Principles that live only in founders' heads don't scale. We're documenting ours, starting with our hiring playbook and this blog.

How it comes together in our process

These ideas show up in every step of how we hire:

1. We read every application against the role and against potential. Not keywords alone.
2. The first conversation is about you. What you've built, what you're obsessed with, how you work.
3. Team interviews test real work. Portfolios, code and live tasks, because behaviour beats claims.
4. We meet in person. Culture is people, so we want to meet the person.
5. We keep the bar. If it isn't a clear yes, it's a no, and we tell you either way.

Why we're telling you this

Because you should know what you're signing up for. ImagineArt is a demanding place to work. You'll get real ownership early, work with people who care a lot, and be held to a high standard. If that sounds like the challenge you want, have a look at our open roles.

Frequently asked questions

What is ImagineArt's hiring philosophy?

Hire for a high bar and potential over pedigree, judge behaviour and proof of work rather than adjectives, give responsibility based on impact, and write principles down so everyone can be held to them.

Why does ImagineArt reference Revolut and Bending Spoons?

Both built global companies with small, high-performing teams and are open about how they hire and work. ImagineArt adapts what fits a fast-growing AI company in Islamabad and San Francisco.