WS2059 Hiring The Best - Merit Over Mandates

Summary:

Fired for his beliefs, Andrew Crapuchettes didn’t fold—he doubled down. After getting ousted from his own $50M company, he turned cancel culture into a catalyst and launched RedBalloon—a bold job board connecting freedom-minded employers with values-driven talent. In this episode, he shares how conviction, merit-based hiring, and principled leadership are reshaping the workplace:

What You’ll Learn:

Lead with Values, Win with Purpose — Discover how staying true to your beliefs can power real business growth.

Merit Over Mandates Works — Why hiring based on skill, not slogans, leads to stronger teams and culture.

From Canceled to Founder — How entrepreneurial grit turns adversity into innovation—and freedom.

Whether you’re navigating workplace pressure or rethinking your hiring strategy, this conversation offers a roadmap for building with courage, clarity, and conviction.

Timestamps:

00:00 Meet Andrew Crapuchettes2:41 Early career and Silicon Valley 7:40 Sell or scale?11:11 Lessons from cancellation13:12 Scaling through values15:25 Red Ballon: merit over mandates21:26 Tactics for transparent hiring24:30 Ask the right questions, the right way27:03 Success metrics: NPS and family impact30:36 How Andrew gives back31:24 Closing thoughts 32:22 Contact information

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