The Seed Stage Hiring Playbook: Building Your First Team

# The Seed Stage Hiring Playbook: Building Your First Team

Your first hires will define your company. They'll shape your culture, determine your velocity, and influence every hire after them.

The Seed Stage Context

### What Makes Seed Hiring Different - No brand: Candidates don't know who you are - No proof: You can't point to traction or success - Limited capital: Every dollar matters - Uncertain future: The company might not exist in a year

### What You're Selling At seed stage, you're selling: - The founding team (their experience, vision, character) - The problem (is it worth solving?) - The opportunity (upside if it works) - The adventure (building something from nothing)

Role Prioritization

### Common First Hires by Founder Type **Technical founders:** First hire is often GTM or operations **Non-technical founders:** First hire is almost always technical **Solo founders:** First hire is essentially a co-founder

### The First Five Hires (Typical) 1. Engineer #1: Senior, full-stack, can own the product 2. Engineer #2: Complements #1's skills 3. GTM hire: Sales, growth, or marketing 4. Engineer #3: Build out the team 5. Ops/Admin: Take operational load off founders

What to Look For

### The Early Hire Profile **Must-haves:** - Bias to action over analysis - Comfort with ambiguity - High agency and ownership - Ability to learn quickly - Low ego

**Watch out for:** - "I need clear direction" - "That's not my job" - "At my last company, we did it this way"

Sourcing at Seed Stage

### Your Network Is Everything At seed stage, 80%+ of hires come from: - Founders' direct network - Friends of friends - Investor introductions - Extended network outreach

### How to Work Your Network 1. Make a list of everyone you know 2. Reach out personally 3. Ask "who do you know?" 4. Follow up systematically

Compensation at Seed Stage

### Cash vs. Equity Tradeoff You can't compete on cash. Compete on: - Equity upside - Learning and growth - Impact and ownership - Mission and adventure

### Typical Equity for First Hires - Employee #1-2: 1-2% - Employee #3-5: 0.5-1% - Employee #6-10: 0.25-0.75%

The Bottom Line

Seed-stage hiring is about finding believers who can execute. Take your time on quality, but move fast once you find them. These hires will define your company.