"Momentum" is the word Rob Hays, CEO of quantum computing startup Atom Computing, repeatedly uses to describe what’s happening at the company.
The firm's momentum is one reason why it's been able to attract heavy hitters to its senior leadership team. Atom announced Thursday it' added Denise Ruffner, formerly of IonQ and IBM (NYSE: IBM), as chief business officer; and Justin Ging, formerly of Honeywell, as chief product officer.
So how was a nascent startup able to attract talent from big name companies? Part of it comes down to Hays hiring strategy. He’s always on the lookout for talent – even when a job opening isn’t technically available.
With Ruffner, he met her while he was a guest on a podcast. He was actually already far along in the interview process with a number of other candidates – but saw immediately that she was a good fit.
“I pursued her,” he said.
With Ging, an introduction was made through a mutual friend.
“I wasn’t necessarily looking to hire someone for that role right then,” Hays said.
The key to finding talent? Be aware of talent – and keep the conversation going. Hays was able to create a job for Ging sooner than what was planned – simply because of the opportunity.
“Always be on the lookout for talent … and really think about getting new skills, points of view and creativity into the team,” he said.
But Hays still had to get them excited about Atom. He said that’s where culture comes in – when making that sell.
“To the extent that you can, create that culture and make people feel like they have a seat at the table,” he advised.
Hays also credits the technology with creating enticing opportunities for technologists. Atom’s first-generation Phoenix computing system goes up to 100 qubits (a qubit is the basic unit of quantum information) – a milestone hefty enough to attract quantum talent, Hays said.
“It allows us to be so quick in scaling up the systems,” he said. “We’re at a point right now where we’re going to start commercializing the technology, opening it up for customers to use.”
Today, Atom has 36 employees and is growing.
Atom describes itself as “a quantum computing startup obsessed with helping companies and researchers reach their next big breakthrough.”
Hays, a former Lenovo executive, was tapped as CEO earlier this year and is building a team in Cary.
