More than a century ago, Thomas Edison – most famous for inventing the lightbulb and phonograph – said that he looked for three qualities in hiring inventors: persistence, imagination, and a logical mind that sees analogies. Today, such traits remain just as critical, especially for innovators launching startups, and the recruiters who help them build their teams.

There is no shortage of good ideas in the world, but there is a shortage of people who can actually translate those ideas into reality. That’s why virtually every disruptive startup shares a common challenge – recruiting enough talented people, fast enough, to achieve its vision before a competitor gets there first. And in the 5G arena, this competition is especially fierce.

Of all the recruiting ads ever penned, the call to join Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 trans-Antarctic expedition ranks among the most stirring and candid. It promised a “…hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in event of success.”