[PostOnce]

If you're at the stage where you need employee satisfaction surveys and an employer handbook, you're no longer a startup, you're a bona-fide company.

A lot of that stuff sounds not only unnecessary for a startup, but downright wasteful. If you have 8 guys working for you, is that really the most productive place to put money?

[rdl]

Legally you DO need crap like an employee handbook, documentation of signing off on training or compliance documents (NDA, etc.), tax and insurance compliance, etc.

It is because that stuff is such pointless crap, yet mandatory, that it is a productive place to put money vs. founder or employee time.