Hey y’all - This is the last of a four part series from our lovely guest - Rich Washington!

If you’re new here, Rich dropped a ton of wisdom on talent and recruiting this month. He covered -

• 5 Common GTM hiring mistakes

• Why entrepreneurs need intrapreneurs around them

• Founder led sales transition playbook

And finally, this week he’ll break down his homegrown Multiplier Matrix framework.

Next month, the fabulous Corrina Owens will be schooling us on all things ABM (Account Based Marketing)! And then after that - we’re back to regularly scheduled programming from yours truly.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of the love and support I’ve received for me and my little guy during this big life moment. ❤️ 

Enjoy! See ya next week!

The Multiplier Matrix: A framework for top talent

If you’ve been in founder or leadership circles for more than five minutes, you’ve heard someone say,

“We only hire A players.”

Sounds great. But here’s the problem = if you ask ten people to define what an A player actually is, you’ll get a hundred different answers.

Some will say it’s your “top 10% performers.” Others will say it’s “people who go above and beyond”

The reality? Very few companies can define it clearly enough to actually hire or coach against it.

In fact, as we shared in week 1 of this 4 partners = research from Sequoia shows only 15% of companies have defined the attitudes and behaviours that make someone a high performer in their business. 

That lack of clarity causes real problems. If you can’t define it, you can’t measure it. If you can’t measure it, you’re hiring and managing on gut feel. And in a startup, gut feel without structure can be expensive.

And there’s another issue = A/B/C player language isn’t useful in coaching.

You can’t sit someone down and say, “Well done, you’re a B player” and expect them to know what to do next.

That’s why I stopped using A/B/C labels years ago. Startups need something more precise, more actionable, and built for the pace and constraints of early-stage growth.

I saw the gap, I saw the pain it was causing, and I created the solution to help my clients (and everyone who's in the same boat!).

The Multiplier Matrix™ - Built for Startups on a Mission to Scale

The Multiplier Matrix™ gives you a clear lens for assessing impact - not just in hiring, but in developing and retaining your team.

It looks at two dimensions that matter most in startups:

1. 🤝 Collaboration & Ownership – Do they work well with others, and take responsibility for outcomes?

2. 🧰 Resourcefulness & Execution – Do they find solutions and deliver results?

Plot those on a matrix, and you get four types:

Spotting Each Type in the Wild

✖️ Multiplier

High on Collaboration and Ownership, high on Resourcefulness and Execution. They think like founders, see the bigger picture, lift others, and get exceptional results.

Example: A Head of Sales who not only builds and runs a repeatable playbook but also develops future leaders and shapes GTM strategy in lockstep with product.

➕ Adder

High on Collaboration and Ownership, but lower on Resourcefulness and Execution. They could be called “B players” - reliable, steady, supportive team members who are valuable, but won’t multiply impact. They’ll deliver in their role but won’t consistently elevate others or innovate beyond their lane.

➗ Divider

High on Resourcefulness and Execution, but low on Collaboration and healthy Ownership. They hit numbers and execute at a high level, but they do it in a way that creates silos, politics, and factions. They may be seen as “top performers” on paper, but over time they damage alignment and trust.

➖ Subtractor

Low across Collaboration, Ownership, Resourcefulness, and Execution. They drain energy, create drama, miss targets, and erode morale. If they are in leadership, your best people will leave. These are your C players — a costly drag on growth.

Why This Beats A/B/C Language

The beauty of the matrix is it gives you a shared vocabulary that works in hiring, coaching, and culture-building.

You can sit down with an Adder and say:

“You’re adding value, you’re solid in your role. But if you want to move into leadership or increase your impact, I need to see you taking more ownership of the wider business, being more resourceful in finding solutions, and delivering results beyond your current scope.”

You can speak to a Divider and say:

“You’re powerful, people respect you, but the way you’re using that influence is creating division. If you’ve got concerns, bring them to me first. We need to channel that strength toward the company vision, that’s the only way I can give you bigger opportunities.”

And you can use it in hiring, by spotting patterns in past behaviour.

Look for examples where a candidate -

• collaborated across functions,

• owned outcomes without waiting for instruction,

• found creative solutions with limited resources,

• and executed at pace.

Then test for those traits in your process. ✅ 

A Framework That Helps People Grow (and know what great looks like!)

Remember, every hire will either Add, Subtract, Divide, or Multiply your impact. 

When we’re talking about hiring managers, that impact gets amplified - for better or worse!

The goal isn’t to label people and leave it there. The power is in knowing where they are now, and coaching them to move up.

As Brent Holloway, Founder of Mastiff Software, put it:

“The multiplier matrix is a smart framework. I can reflect back and quickly internalise which of our team members were multipliers, and I think a system/process to identify more multipliers in the recruitment and interview process makes a lot of sense.”

Chelsey Langan, CRO at Think Warwick, nailed it too:

“You don’t just want great people. You want people who make others great. That’s the core of a Multiplier.”

And in the words of Warren Hammond, CRO at Volt.io:

“I love your scorecard because I love simple frameworks that allow people to break down complex problems. It provides a vocabulary and a perspective that helps drive better conversations.”

The Gain

If you only focus on the “gap” - how far someone is from your ideal hire or top performer - you’ll get stuck in frustration.

If you focus on the “gain” - what it would take to move them up the matrix - you’ll build a stronger, more aligned team over time.

The A/B/C player language is too vague to do that. The Multiplier Matrix™ gives you the map.

Want to know how Tick Talent can help you find some Multipliers?

If you're planning to hire for growth, or to strengthen your team, we might be able to help you get the edge you've been looking for.

Like the Sales Lead in our Toronto Series A client who helped them grow by 300% in her first 12 months, and just got promoted to Director of Sales.

Or the Head of Sales in our London seed stage client who helped them grow 120% in her first 9 months.

Or the privately-owned Barcelona company who, after steady growth over 25 years, brought in both a top-level Head of Sales and Head of Marketing to lead their global expansion.

If you're planning on hiring critical GTM roles, let's first understand what impact you're looking to achieve, align on the outcomes and success criteria, and see if there's a fit.

If you want to start by looking at your current team through the Multiplier Matrix lens, take the scorecard -

Keep in touch

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Thanks for having me! - Rich

Want to learn more about how I help startups increase their revenue by 150-590%? 👀 

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With love and gratitude,