"the type of people you need at this stage are the type who could be almost be startup founders themselves"
Pretty much. I run a bootstrapped SAAS and built a small team over the years. I havae made so many mistakes when hiring the early employees. So many. The biggest mistake: Hire someone who will be a good fit in a larger team/corporate where they have structure and are told what to do. Do not hire those people as your early employees no matter where they come from or how smart they are in general.
You need people who are "almost" entrepreneurial but cannot do their own thing. They love to own things, have autonomy and can wear multiple hats. They are willing to experiment with you and most importantly, move the needle. Very difficult to find especially when you are a nothing startup.
Comments
"the type of people you need at this stage are the type who could be almost be startup founders themselves"
Pretty much. I run a bootstrapped SAAS and built a small team over the years. I havae made so many mistakes when hiring the early employees. So many. The biggest mistake: Hire someone who will be a good fit in a larger team/corporate where they have structure and are told what to do. Do not hire those people as your early employees no matter where they come from or how smart they are in general.
You need people who are "almost" entrepreneurial but cannot do their own thing. They love to own things, have autonomy and can wear multiple hats. They are willing to experiment with you and most importantly, move the needle. Very difficult to find especially when you are a nothing startup.
I think this is the top hiring mistake for startupS - hiring the big cheese from BigCo who turns out to be a total culture clash.
I do however disagree with your final paragraph. We had a few wantrapreneurs who were usually moonlighting and clearly didn’t want to be there.
"few wantrapreneurs who were usually moonlighting"
Yes that's the potential downside. That's why I said "almost" who cant do their own thing. That difference is very slim.