Knowing when to make your first non-founder hire is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your startup's growth and trajectory. There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but here's a breakdown of factors to consider:

Key Indicators It Might Be Time:

• You (and your co-founders) are consistently overwhelmed: You're working excessive hours, sacrificing personal time, and constantly firefighting. If you're spending too much time on tasks that are not core to your expertise or the business's long-term strategy, it's a red flag.


• Growth is being stifled: Opportunities are being missed, deadlines are slipping, and the business isn't scaling as quickly as it could be because of limited bandwidth.


• Founders are doing tasks that are beneath them: Founders should be focusing on high-level strategy, fundraising, and building the overall vision. If you're spending a significant portion of your time on administrative tasks, customer support, or tasks a less expensive hire could do, it's inefficient.


• Specific skill gaps are hindering progress: You've identified a crucial skill set missing within the founding team (e.g., marketing expertise, sales experience, specialized engineering knowledge) that's preventing you from reaching key milestones.


• Customers are demanding more support: Increased customer volume or complexity necessitates a dedicated support person to maintain customer satisfaction and prevent churn.


• Burnout is a real threat: Prolonged stress and exhaustion among the founders can lead to mistakes, poor decision-making, and even health problems.

• Cash Flow and Runway: Can you afford to pay a salary, benefits, and potential onboarding costs for at least 6-12 months? Calculate your runway (how long your cash will last) and ensure a new hire won't significantly shorten it to a dangerous level.


• Clearly Defined Role and Responsibilities: Don't hire just to hire. Have a specific role in mind with clear objectives and metrics for success. What problems will this hire solve? What are the expected outcomes?


• Process Automation and Efficiency: Before hiring, assess if you can streamline existing processes or automate tasks to reduce workload. Tools and automation may eliminate the need for a hire, or reduce the scope of the required role.


• Founding Team Skill Enhancement: Could the founders acquire the necessary skills through training, online courses, or mentorship instead of hiring someone? Consider this before committing to a full-time salary.


• Alternatives to Full-Time Hires: Explore alternatives like freelancers, contractors, or part-time employees. These options offer flexibility and can be a cost-effective way to address immediate needs.


• Company Culture and Values: How will a new hire integrate into the existing team? Ensure your hiring process prioritizes candidates who align with your company's values and can contribute to a positive work environment.

If you decide it's time to hire, think strategically about which role will have the biggest impact:

• Sales/Business Development: If you need to generate revenue and acquire customers.


• Marketing: If you need to build brand awareness and attract leads.


• Engineering/Development: If you need to improve your product or build new features.


• Customer Support: If you need to improve customer satisfaction and retention.


• Operations/Admin: If you need to free up founders from administrative tasks.

• Set Clear Expectations: Communicate clear expectations, goals, and performance metrics to the new hire from day one.


• Provide Adequate Training and Support: Invest time and resources in training and supporting the new hire to ensure they can succeed in their role.


• Empowerment and Ownership: Give the new hire a sense of ownership and empower them to make decisions and contribute to the company's success.


• Culture Fit is Critical: In a small startup, the first few hires have a disproportionate impact on the company culture. Prioritize candidates who are a good fit.


• Rethink as you grow: Once you make a hire, continuously evaluate whether the role is still necessary and if the person is still the right fit for the company. As the company evolves, you may need to adjust roles or even let people go.

Let's say you're two co-founders building a SaaS product. You're both technical and have built a great MVP. However, you're spending all your time coding and answering customer support emails, leaving no time for sales and marketing. You're also noticing that customer onboarding is taking too long, leading to some early churn. In this scenario, your first hire might be a customer success manager or a junior sales person.

In Summary:

The decision to make your first non-founder hire is a strategic one that should be based on a careful assessment of your business needs, financial situation, and the skills of your founding team. Don't rush into it, but don't delay it if it's hindering your growth. Prioritize roles that will have the biggest impact on revenue, customer satisfaction, or product development, and be prepared to invest time and resources in supporting your new hire's success. Good luck!