[dsugarman]

it's scary for a number of reasons, you outlined the biggest ones. You are basically saying you will be the COO if you do a good job, but then when exactly does their title change? What if you attract someone that is on another level in terms of qualifications and relative experience? If they don't become the COO in a given time frame as your company grows, there will likely be problems stemming at the core of your operations, which scares me. I would always let someone know there is room for upward mobility but this might be a little specific.