Field notes

Practical hiring insights for startup founders and candidates

Clear, direct thinking for the decisions that shape early teams. Written to be useful, not to fill a content calendar.

Hiring Strategy

Fast hiring is not the problem. Hiring before you are clear about what the business actually needs is.

Product Hiring

The first PM should increase the quality of product decisions, not separate founders from the product.

Engineering

The best signal is rarely a checklist of tools. Look for how people make trade-offs under real constraints.

Go-to-market

Build the commercial team around the motion you have, not the org chart you expect later.

Leadership Hiring

IC and leadership hiring are different problems. Startups get into trouble when they assess them as though they are the same.

Engineering Hiring

Your first engineering hires shape far more than the codebase. They influence product, standards, pace and the team that follows.

Operations & Leadership

A good Chief of Staff creates leverage for the organisation. A poorly defined one simply becomes the person who catches everything nobody else owns.

Candidate Experience

Candidates do not expect startup hiring to be perfect. They expect it to be clear, respectful and honest.