This post has been edited from my Twitter thread.
You're a founder. Which means you have to talk to customers, gather insights, build product, deal with bugs, run customer support, talk to investors, put out fires, recruit new employees, hire them, onboard them and...manage them too?
Who has the time? Many founders can struggle to move from "Maker" to "Manager" so here are tips for 13 common situations you'll encounter.
- Read this post
- Wow, you're off to a great start!
Managing starts with hiring so let's jump in:
- Aim for as senior as you can get!
- Usually, in the early days, their potential > their experience
- They should "wow!" you in some aspect
- The temptation to settle is high! Don't do it.
Motivating the 1st few employees is difficult. You can center around:
- Equity
- Bigger salary if possible
- More autonomy on their work
- Being remote
^if you can't offer something amazing to start, mention that you'd like to revisit their compensation in ~6 months in
The market for hiring is getting more and more competitive. To stand out:
- Be respectful to every applicant
- Make the process fun
- Play to your strengths
- Where you post a job matters so go as niche as possible (i.e., remote JS front-end developer job boards > posting on Indeed)
- Compete on being DIFFERENT, not better than the other jobs out there
- Once you find someone you really want to work with, follow up with them forever!
- If you build the relationship, eventually the timing will work out for them to join!
- Ask if you can add them to your monthly updates, and/or if they'd be open to circling back in a year from now (schedule a note on your calendar so you don't forget!)
Don't assume that a signed offer letter is set in stone! Make sure you:
- Continue to sell them on the opportunity
- Set up a quick check-in(s) before their start date to keep enthusiasm live
- Consider continuing your recruiting UNTIL the 1st person has actually started
Onboarding time!
- Start with small, quick wins
- Schedule 1:1s with the right folks (team of 1? Talk to you!)
- Intro them to the lingo + tools you use & HOW you use them
- Handing over responsibilities as they get into the role (autonomy is big!)
- Regular 1:1s to help them grow + build your culture
- Do retreats if possible!
- Do retros to continually improve!
- Be very, VERY specific with your praise
- During 1:1s, make sure they know they should be leading with an agenda + questions (create the space to be vulnerable)
- Take rolling notes on each person so you can send a "1st 100 days" email
- Building culture is also part of being a manager
- Host a "Show & Tell" with things folks have built/learned
- Have a "Highs & Lows" meeting (could be async) with wins & struggles, big/small' personal/professional
If you love being a maker, make sure you set aside "maker time" for yourself so you can regularly code, write, sell, whatever you miss!
Most calm companies start very flat but eventually, you'll need some sort of more formalized hierarchy.
- Start with a well-respected team member when adding a layer
- Scale up your 1:1s from, say, every week to every month
Looking to transition from hiring part-time freelancers to hiring FT employees that take full ownership?
- Sell them on the vision of the company
- Double down on the culture
- Share publicly about what makes it a great place to be long-term
Sometimes we make the wrong hiring decision. To avoid this costly mistake:
- Include a take-home project to test out their skill before they start (but be respectful with what you ask. ~ 1 hour to complete is fair)
- Do reference checks! Seriously. Do them. Like actually.
Happy managing and making.