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Hiring the (Right) First 10
- Support
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Building a Team That Can Scale Without Falling Apart
Why Are the First 10 Hires So Critical in a Startup?
Early hires aren't just employees—they're culture carriers, process architects, and momentum-makers. In the earliest days of a startup, there are no departmental silos, no bureaucratic safety nets, and certainly no margin for dead weight. Every person you bring on sets the tone, rhythm, and direction of your future organization. And here's the tough truth: bad hires at this stage can cost you years of progress.
As David Cummings, founder of Pardot, once said, "A players hire A players; B players hire C players."
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 20% of new hires leave their job within the first 45 days—and in startup environments, poor culture fit is a leading cause.
What Roles Should You Hire First in a Startup?
Founders often rush to fill roles based on the most urgent operational gaps. But strategic hiring is not about patching leaks—it’s about designing an engine that can handle long-haul growth.
Instead of just developers or marketers, consider the personas:
The Generalist: A doer who can figure things out fast.
The Builder: Think product-minded engineers who ship reliably.
The Closer: Someone who can sell—whether it’s product, partnerships, or PR.
The Optimizer: The person who improves whatever they touch.
Frameworks like the one used by Y Combinator emphasize hiring for trajectory over experience.
How Do You Know Someone Can Scale With the Company?
You can’t always predict it, but you can pattern-match. Look for:
Prior evidence of adaptability
A hunger for ambiguous problems
Low ego, high feedback acceptance
Startups like Zapier and Notion have documented how they assess not just skills, but meta-skills like learning agility and systems thinking.
"Great early hires are multipliers, not adders." — First Round Capital
According to a LinkedIn study, the most in-demand startup skills include adaptability, creativity, and decision-making under uncertainty.
How Do You Maintain Culture as You Scale?
Here's where things usually go sideways. When you go from 3 to 10 people, it still feels intimate. But once you hit 10+, you need to write things down, name your values, and create norms on purpose.
A few non-fluffy tactics:
Write a "How We Work" manual and revise it monthly.
Give every new hire a culture buddy.
Reward behaviors, not just outcomes.
Companies like Loom and Basecamp have published their internal playbooks as public templates.
According to a Gallup report, companies with highly engaged teams show 21% greater profitability.
What’s the Best Way to Recruit Your First Hires?
Skip the job boards. You need to recruit like a founder:
Cold outreach to people you admire
Tap personal networks and referrals
Leverage communities like Indie Hackers, Hacker News, and Product Hunt
Also consider tools like Wellfound (formerly AngelList), which is still the go-to for startup hiring.
Your first 10 hires won’t just build your product—they’ll shape your future org chart, set your internal jargon, and influence whether your startup is a place people want to stay. Take your time. Set the bar high. Hire people who could run the place someday.
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