Early Team
Hiring in the Chaos: What Founders Must Get Right Early
Your first hires shape your culture, speed, and resilience. Here’s how to build your early team with intention—not improvisation.
Hiring in the early days of a startup isn’t about filling roles—it’s about laying the foundation for a company that can grow, adapt, and thrive. These are the principles I’ve learned through experience and now coach founders to get right from day one:
🔹 Hire for Values—Coach for Skills
Your early team needs more than technical talent. You need people who think like owners, thrive in ambiguity, and show up with curiosity—not ego.
🔹 Your Interview Process Is Your First Cultural Signal
If you want builders, don’t interview like a corporate recruiter.
Use scenario-based questions, practical tasks, and real conversations—not resumes and titles—to find the right fit.
🔹 Set Expectations Early and Clearly
Early-stage roles are messy.
Be transparent:
“This role includes strategy, but we also need you in the weeds, building alongside us.”
🔹 Generalists Now, Specialists Later
At this stage, versatility > perfection.
Your first hires should be comfortable wearing multiple hats and flexing between priorities.
🔹 Culture Happens by Design—or by Default
Your first hires shape how your team gives feedback, handles chaos, and solves problems.
Be intentional early—it compounds over time.
🔹 Don’t Shortcut Co-Founder Alignment
If you’re building with partners, treat that relationship as a strategic asset.
Align early on:
• Vision
• Equity
• Roles
• How you’ll handle disagreements when things don’t go as planned
🔚 Final Thought:
Startups rarely fail because they lack vision.
They fall apart when expectations are misaligned and early hires aren’t equipped—or motivated—to grow with the chaos.
Need help designing your hiring process or aligning co-founders?
I work with founders and teams across deep tech, digital health, and AI to scale smarter and lead better.