On Hiring

Step into the role before hiring someone into the role.

---

As a startup founder, it can be tempting to jump right into the hiring process to fill an open position. However, it's important to take a step back and evaluate whether you / your co-founders fully understand the requirements and expectations of the job before making that crucial hiring decision.

Stepping into the role before hiring someone into the role can help you:

- Gain a deeper understanding of the role and its responsibilities, as well as the skills and qualities needed to succeed

- Gain a better sense of the personality traits, work style, and communication skills that are most important for success in the role

- Set realistic expectations for the role, and provide you with a more accurate picture of the skills and experience needed to achieve success in the position.

So, before you start the hiring process, take a step back and ask yourself: Have I truly done the job?

Don't hire a Product Manager too early. Orchestrators are important but suck up valuable time and resources.

---

While Product Managers can be an essential part of any startup it's important to consider the stage of your business before making this hire.

In the early days the CEO should be the product person. Along with a technical co-founder and a handful of engineers, designers, and commercial resources - they work toward product-market fit. Everyone must be an individual contributor.

Hire a product manager when:

- You have people in place that you can trust to build and change direction quickly

- The company grows and managing all these people starts to feel unmanageable

- You have a clear understanding of your target market and have a well-defined product roadmap