How to hire... under 4 min
The hardest job you’ll love
Read time: 4 min
I get asked all the time how to handle hiring.
Spoiler alert: it’s freaking hard.
It’s both hard and crucial—because if you don’t hire well, you won’t build well.
Founders like to think they can “manage” a hire into success.
Truth is, they can’t.
Great companies are built by great people, period.
Here are tips I picked up from years of hustling.
1. Spend More Time on Hiring
Once your vision is locked and product-market fit is there (good luck), hiring should take at least 30% of your time.
Sounds wild, but it’s the best leverage you’ve got.
Your network, your enthusiasm, your mission—that’s what pulls people in.
Outsourcing this to recruiters? No way.
Keep it personal, and interview every candidate yourself until you’re pushing 100 employees.
2. Get Your Hands Dirty First
If you don’t understand the role, it’s tough to hire well.
Founders who’ve never done sales shouldn’t rush to hire a VP of Sales until they understand the basics themselves.
This hands-on approach gives you the context to spot red flags and the know-how to lean on your board for final opinions.
3. Look for “Smart” and “Effective”
Skip the fluff. Smart and effective are non-negotiables.
Go deep into candidates’ biggest projects—what did they do, not just what their team did?
If you’re bored in the interview, that’s a bad sign. If you’re learning something? That’s good.
4. Don’t Just Interview—Audition
You want to know what it’s like actually working with someone? Give them a real project—just a day or two.
For engineers, that might mean coding for a non-critical project.
PR candidates? Draft a press release.
Pay them as contractors, and you’ll get a real sense of their skills and how they mesh with your team.
5. Source Smarter
Use your network. Friends, friends of friends—they’re 10x more likely to bring you someone great. Even if they don’t seem interested, reach out anyway.
Great people know other great people. Once you hire a star, ask them to bring in more like-minded folks.
6. Have a Mission—and Sell It
People need to believe in why your work matters. Don’t assume they’ll be as hyped as you are—they won’t be, not at first. Your job is to sell the mission, and sell it hard.
7. Be Generous—with Equity
Be stingy everywhere else, but give generously on compensation.
Ideally, you’re paying market or slightly below and balancing it out with equity. Cash for security; equity for the upside.
For early hires, consider 1.5% for your first engineer, dropping to about 0.25% for the 20th. But stay flexible, and be prepared to negotiate.
8. Trust Your Gut on Red Flags
If a candidate’s focused on titles or team size, beware. If something doesn’t sit right, pass. You’ll almost never regret trusting your gut.
9. Fire Fast
Hiring is guessing. Firing is knowing.
So many managers and CEOs have egos around hiring and how well they can “judge character.”
It holds them back from moving fast, cutting toxic people, and more. A huge part of building culture comes down to who you decide to hire and fire.
“Check your ego in the door. You’re not that great at hiring. But good news, nobody is.”
Parting Thought?
Hiring is hard, but if you stay true to these principles, you’ll build a team worth growing with.
And remember, once you’ve hired great people, keep them.
Check in, give regular promotions, and maintain that all-important momentum.
👉 Want to join our community and co-invest in awesome Climate Tech deals?
Just reply to this message and I’ll share more details.
All very good and valid points. But I assume you advise founder not to write their own legal contracts or do their own accounts and audits? To take qualified professional help, or at least advice!? Yet whilst admitting your people are your number one priority and key to success, you don’t mention the use of a professional search company. Why is that? I can guess, because there are so many bad recruiters out there. But also so many bad lawyers and bad accountants, due diligence is always required. but the right search firm is more valuable than a good lawyer or accountant.