One Question Friday: Hiring Your First Employee
About This Episode
Shaan Puri hosts this solo 'One Question Friday' episode to advise a non-technical founder on why hiring a Product Manager too early can be a mistake. He explains the concept of firing yourself from 'Level 1' tasks and shares his strategy for using trial periods to vet major hires.
Episode Description
Links
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Key Takeaways
Do not hire a Product Manager until you have at least 10 engineers; the founder must personally own the customer feedback loop during the early stages.
Identify product-market fit by determining if you are 'pushing a boulder uphill' (high-effort convincing) or 'chasing it downhill' (struggling to keep up with demand).
Replace standard interviews with a 1-3 month paid trial project to evaluate a candidate's actual work performance before making a permanent commitment.