Ask HN: What do you look for when hiring a designer for your startup?

I recently had a proposal accepted to teach a 6 week agile product design seminar to students in the UC Davis design program this summer. My goal as the instructor of this course is to prepare capable design students for entry into the world of startups. My proposed course outline is available here: http://smore.com/n6ya

My question for you: what skills do you look for when hiring a designer for your startup? When you've interviewed designers, what areas have they been lacking in? If you were interviewing a designer fresh out of school, what could they show you that would convince you to give them a chance at your company?