Fuse Energy might have a valuation of $5bn, but co-founder and CEO Alan Chang has revealed he still personally interviews every engineer looking to join the business.
Chang, who founded the company in 2022 alongside fellow former Revolut executive Charles Orr, believes founders who don’t interview potential recruits have ‘already given up on quality’.
In December 2025, the fast-growing energy company reached a valuation of $5bn following a Series B funding round led by Balderton and Lowercarbon Capital.
Chang, who has more than 40,000 followers on LinkedIn, said: “A founder who doesn’t interview every engineer has already given up on quality.
“I still interview every one. If they pass, I offer on the spot. No ‘we’ll be in touch’.
“I also walk them through the business plan myself. The numbers, the projections, the bets we’re making.
“They’re committing the next few years of their career to Fuse. The least I owe them is a straight look at what they’re joining.”
However, Chang’s hands-on approach to recruitment divided opinion among his LinkedIn followers.
James Mahy replied: “Just sounds like a founder who doesn’t trust their team to hire quality.”
Fellow founder and CEO Hernan Guitart Iturriaga questioned whether personally interviewing every engineer was the best use of a founder’s time.
He wrote: “The question isn’t whether a founder interviews every engineer. It’s whether that’s the highest-impact use of their time at this stage of the company. Sometimes it absolutely is. Other times, building a team that can hold that bar without you creates far more leverage.”
Head of engineering Anil Dave suggested that founders risk becoming a bottleneck if they remain too involved in recruitment.
He said: “I think the real test of engineering leadership comes when the founder no longer needs to interview everyone.
“Building a team you trust to make great hiring decisions is how you scale quality. Otherwise, the founder risks becoming the bottleneck.”
Chang and Orr were both included in BusinessCloud’s inaugural Founder 250 list.