The Team We’re Building at HUMN
There’s a document that changed how I think about building HUMN. It was an investor memo written early in the raise process when I first started working with Vesta Legacy Group and it laid out the risks of the company and the gaps in my leadership. It wasn’t something that I took personal but more so just understanding what we need to build a system around. Reading it was one of the most clarifying moments I’ve had as a founder. Not because it was uncomfortable, although it was, but because it gave me a framework I didn’t know I needed. If I want this company to grow to where I believe it can grow, I can’t be the only one carrying it. I need a group of people focused on a single goal who believe in the mission and I need to be deliberate about who those people are and why.
Skills are a commodity.
When I hear about hiring, I kept hearing the same thing. Find those who have the right resume, credentials, and/or track record and while I believe those things are important, I believe they’re the prerequisite just to get in the door. Skills are something you can develop. I still remember walking into CDW day one still not knowing what the company did. Skills can be learned, trained, and refined over time. What can’t be manufactured or fast tracked is the mental, emotional, and spiritual health of the person sitting across from you. That’s what I lead with in every conversation about bringing someone into the HUMN ecosystem.
I’m looking for communication first. Not the ability to talk but the ability to listen, to translate complex ideas into clear language (thank you Gartner), and to navigate difficult conversations without losing the relationships. I spent 14 years in corporate developing this skill and I can tell you that it’s the single most underrated competency in business. The people who can communicate with precision and empathy in any room are the ones who move things forward.
The second thing I look for is emotional intelligence. Self awareness. The ability to manage your own state before you try to manage a situation. Building a company from scratch is an emotionally demanding environment. Things go wrong, timelines shift, deals fall through, and the people who thrive in that environment are the ones who can hold their composure and make clear decisions when everything around them is uncertain. That’s not a skill you put on a resume. It’s a quality that reveals itself over time and in pressure. I always say, “let time do its thing.”
The third is energy exchange. This one is harder to articulate but I feel it immediately in every conversation. Does this person bring energy into the room or do they drain it? Do they add clarity or create noise? How do we vibrate off of each other? Is there a flow? At the level we’re building HUMN, the energy of the people around you is critical to the experience and service we will provide to our members. Energy compounds the same way capital does. Surround yourself with the right kind and everything accelerates. Surround yourself with the wrong kind and even the best strategy will stall.
Filling the gaps.
The investor memo taught me that no single person, including me, makes a company soar. What makes it fly is a group of people who each occupy the right seat, understand the mission, and bring the communication, emotional intelligence, and energy that the build demands at every stage.
What I’ve built around HUMN reflects that. Investors who believe in the vision and bring more than capital to the table. Advisors who have done what I’m trying to do and are honest enough to tell me where I’m wrong. Fractional executives who bring depth of expertise in the areas where my gaps are real. Partners who see the same future we see and are willing to build toward it together. It’s an ecosystem and all of them are essential.
The capital milestone and what’s next.
I’ve been pausing more. Pausing to reflect on everything that’s happened in 19 months. At the time of this writing, it’s October, and we’re closing our pre-seed at the end of the month to prepare for our seed round. It feels weird saying these words because 2 years ago I didn’t even know what these words meant. This milestone represents a group of people who believed in this before there was much to believe in. Before the lease, the press coverage, permits, and before the demo (which is weeks away). They said “yes” to a person and a vision and that trust is something I carry into every decision I make.
What comes next is a new chapter of the build and a new chapter of the team. The seed round and everything that follows will require different in different seats doing different things than what got us here. There’s a quote I love, “What got you here won’t get you there.” I’m deliberate about every seat at the table. Character cannot be installed. I would rather have a team of ten people with exceptional communication, emotional intelligence, and energy than a hundred people with impressive resumes and nothing left in the tank when things get hard.
Am I happy? Yes.
Am I tired? Yes.
Am I having fun? Yes.
This is what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.
-Omar
