The World's Biggest Startup

Between election and inauguration, the US president-elect must build what amounts to the biggest, fastest startup in existence.

In these 75 or so days, there are around 4,000 roles to fill in the executive branch, quickly, and about 1,200 require Senate confirmation. It is these people who will, at least in theory, execute the president’s agenda in service of the American people.

Though it will be his second term, Trump faces a challenge much like a first-term president—one, because his terms are nonconsecutive, and two, because few of his previous staffers and cabinet members are likely to return for a sequel.

Needless to say, a presidential transition is not like a startup in the typical sense. Let’s look at some of the ways it resembles and differs from a CEO building a team in the world of business.

Sheer Scale

A founder scaling a startup hopes to be doing lots of hiring, but it’s nothing like filling 4,000 high-pressure roles in a few months. You’ve got to get your cabinet and senior …