[rodp]

I respect Ryan and usually enjoy his advice, but I must say I disagree with most that's written here.

Having freelancers who have 0 emotional attachment to your vision build the first version of your product and then replace them with someone else is a really bad idea in my experience. Your #1 employee should be someone who is almost as excited about the product as you. Furthermore, they should ideally have substantial skills and experience and complement you and the rest of the founders well. Most important: they should be a culture fit. Competitive salary and benefits shouldn't be cruical for the first employee. Vision and stock options should. Trying to save money by hiring someone less experienced or indifferent to your vision does not pay in the long run.

Ryan's advice is more about economics, but I feel that, since we're talking about hiring the first person, it should have been about vision and personality.

[ryancarson]

Fair comment. I think most people get too mired down in hiring that first person, instead of getting to MVP. Better to crank it out, get traction, and then build the proper team. Sure, it'd be better to hire the perfect person first, but this isn't always an option.

[mnicole]

I couldn't agree more, hiring from the hip just to ship something just screams red flag.

As an employee, I want to come into a business knowing that each of my team members is as dedicated to the project as I am or is able to get me amped up for it. Knowing that one of them is only temporary (especially if they're one of the first employees) makes me question how serious the company actually is to make a quality product as opposed to trying to get dollars in the door as soon as they can. It also makes me question whether my employment is seen as just a stepping-stone as well.