

Ask HN: What do you wish you knew when hiring for your first startup? - wh-uws

I&#x27;m about to start a startup.<p>I&#x27;m technical, I have a CS degree and I&#x27;ve been doing web development since 2006... but I&#x27;ve only ever worked with close friends on my own company of which I&#x27;ve done one consulting.<p>I&#x27;ve also worked at one later staged startup that grew into a mid-size company.<p>How, besides looking for friends who are good of course, do you go about deciding people to pick?<p>What do you wish you knew when you got started?<p>Thanks
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trevelyan
Advice from a bootstrapped/non-funded entrepreneur. If you have funding or are
scaling extremely quickly maybe none of this applies:

* don't hire anyone to do work you have not personally done. You need to know how long it takes and what kind of effort is involved or else on-boarding is difficult.

* unless your startup has revenue and is profitable, don't pay someone a higher salary than you are getting. Doing so can breed resentment on your part.

* don't offer equity if you can avoid it: no-one else thinks your company is as valuable as you do anyway.

* don't get hung up about a CS degree unless it is necessary for the work. For most web-development you need someone who is SMART and ENTHUSIASTIC, and who is a fast-learner with a track record of getting stuff done and an interest in web-development. Plenty of liberal arts majors have these skills.

* someone should know about 80% of what they need in order to be fully productive. This means you shouldn't sweat stuff like knowledge of MVC or particular frameworks. This is where the fast-learner and enthusiasm bit comes in, and it can be a good excuse for setting up a probationary period.

* interns have always ended up being more work for me than they are worth when asked to work independently, but if you are willing to spend time supervising and can work closely with them in a way that ties closely into your own workflow (I am working on X and need Y done now) they can be a real effort multiplier.

* if you can afford it, pay people well. This is not always possible, but it is so much easier dealing with someone who is paid decently, because they won't feel taken advantage of and will more likely give you the benefit of the doubt when you start freaking out under pressure or act poorly because of stress. Not that you should do this.

* finally - CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH - in the event of conflict, you need to deal with it personally in one-on-one conversation rather than through email. This avoids miscommunication and keeps both sides from internalizing grievances.

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Matt_Mickiewicz
1\. Be Decisive & move with a sense of urgency.

2\. Don't be cheap. Not worth missing your product roadmap to save $20K/year
or having to spend 6 months re-architecting your entire app because the early
people weren't senior & experienced enough.

3\. The only three questions that matter:

\- Do I like this person and can I work with them?

\- Can they get the job done and have a positive attitude (especially when
s*it hits the wall)?

\- Are they excited and interested in what we're doing?

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beachstartup
just do your interviews as best you can and go with what you feel is the best
candidate, given the situation and given your knowledge.

despite what anyone says this is all you've _really_ got. you run a company
now - you don't deal in certainties, you deal in probabilities and need to
make hard decisions with very little factual information.

