Leadership Hiring
Before you hire an AI lead, decide what they will own
An AI title will not resolve an unclear problem. Define the work, the authority and the result before you open the search.
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Notes on startup hiring.
Practical thinking for founders and investors on hiring, talent markets and building teams.
Hiring Strategy
Your first talent lead should build a hiring function, not a queue
When several hires are coming, more sourcing is rarely the whole answer. Give one person ownership of the decisions and the process.
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Hiring Strategy
A faster shortlist is not a better hiring decision
AI can reduce the time spent finding profiles. The value depends on whether the evidence helps you choose well.
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Hiring Strategy
AI saves time. Your hiring plan needs to explain what happens next.
AI can release capacity without reducing costs. Understand the real benefit before deciding what your next hire needs to deliver.
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Hiring Strategy
The Hidden Cost of Hiring Too Fast
Fast hiring is not the problem. Hiring before you are clear about what the business actually needs is.
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Product Hiring
How to Hire Your First Product Manager
The first PM should increase the quality of product decisions, not separate founders from the product.
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Engineering
Startup Engineering Hiring: What Actually Predicts Success
The best signal is rarely a checklist of tools. Look for how people make trade-offs under real constraints.
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Go-to-market
GTM Hiring for Startups: The First Three Roles You Actually Need
Build the commercial team around the motion you have, not the org chart you expect later.
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Leadership Hiring
The Real Difference Between IC and Leadership Hiring in Startups
IC and leadership hiring are different problems. Startups get into trouble when they assess them as though they are the same.
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Engineering Hiring
How to Hire a Founding Engineer
Your first engineering hires shape far more than the codebase. They influence product, standards, pace and the team that follows.
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Operations & Leadership
When Should a Startup Hire a Chief of Staff?
A good Chief of Staff creates leverage for the organisation. A poorly defined one simply becomes the person who catches everything nobody else owns.
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Candidate Experience
What Great Candidate Experience Actually Looks Like in a Startup
Candidates do not expect startup hiring to be perfect. They expect it to be clear, respectful and honest.
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