In any business, regardless of size or sector, it’s important to attract the best employees possible. However, attracting top talent is particularly important for small businesses and startups. On average, most startups won’t make it to their fifth anniversary, but those that do will have retained 80 percent of their initial total employment. This is telling—attracting and retaining the best possible employees is critical to a startup’s long-term success. To do this, it’s important to develop a strong company culture. Putting people first and clearly communicating the company’s goals and vision are critical in developing an authentic culture. The best employees want to know that the company is invested in them; in turn, they will be invested in the company’s future. Transparency is also important in attracting and retaining talent. Expressing the positives to employees is great, but it’s important to share the negatives with them too. Young companies in particular are often wary of sharing their struggles with employees while the company is trying to establish itself. Offering alternatives to traditional benefits and incentives can also be attractive to talented job seekers.