First Hire

Employment law, classification rules, and payroll/tax obligations vary by jurisdiction and change over time. This skill helps you decide who to hire and how to hire them well - it is not legal, tax, or HR advice. Whether someone is legally an employee or a contractor, and what paperwork and obligations follow, depends on local law. Confirm the specifics with a qualified local employment lawyer or accountant before you hire (see legal-and-incorporation).

Your first hires set the company's bar, culture, and burn rate at once - and early hiring mistakes are slow and expensive to fix, because a wrong hire in a five-person company is 20% of it. First-timers tend to hire too early, hire for the wrong role, hire a version of themselves, and "interview" on gut feel - then wonder why it didn't work. This skill makes the first hire deliberate: hire only when it's the right move, for the one role that unblocks the biggest constraint, against a written scorecard, through a structured process - and onboard so they actually succeed.

The method

Built on the Founder OS scaffold (High tier). Full decision tree, scorecard, question bank, and checklists in references/first-hires.md.

Step 1 - Decide if you should hire at all (ask before assuming)

A hire is the most expensive, least reversible way to add capacity - so make it the last resort, not the reflex. Walk the decision tree (in the reference): can this be automated, a tool/process, outsourced to a contractor or agency, dropped entirely, or is it genuinely not yet time? Hire only when there's durable, full-time, core work that none of those solve. Hiring to feel busy or less overwhelmed is the classic first-timer trap.

Step 2 - Define the ONE role that unblocks the biggest constraint (batch then decide)

Don't hire for a wish-list of pains. Find your single biggest constraint - the bottleneck that, if cleared, unlocks the most progress toward your [GOAL] - and define the one role that clears it. Pick the highest-leverage single hire, not three half-roles. Be honest about whether the constraint is really work you should still be doing yourself.

Step 3 - Write a sharp role spec + scorecard (a draft is not a decision)

A job title is not a spec. Write a scorecard: the 3-5 concrete outcomes this person must deliver in their first 6-12 months (measurable, e.g. against a [METRIC]), plus the competencies and behaviours needed to deliver them. The scorecard - not a gut feeling - is what you'll hire against, and it forces you to know what "great" looks like before you meet anyone.

Step 4 - Source candidates deliberately (research before asserting)

The best early hires usually come from your network and warm referrals, not a cold job board. Source from several channels, write the role honestly (sell the mission and the reality of early-stage), and cast wider than your own circle to avoid hiring a mini-me. Aim for a real pipeline, not the first warm body.

Step 5 - Run a structured interview + work-sample

Unstructured "let's chat" interviews mostly measure how much you like someone. Instead: ask the same structured questions of every candidate (bank in the reference), score against the scorecard, and - most predictive of all - run a paid work-sample or trial project that mirrors the real job. What they actually produce beats how well they talk. Decide against the scorecard, not the vibe.

Step 6 - Decide employee vs. contractor at the concept level (verify locally)

Understand the concept-level trade-offs (in the reference) - control, commitment, flexibility, cost, and risk - but classification is a legal question. Misclassifying a worker carries real penalties, and the rules vary by jurisdiction. Form a leaning, then confirm the correct classification and paperwork with a local employment lawyer/accountant.

Step 7 - Onboard so they actually succeed

A great hire fails with a bad onboarding. Run the onboarding checklist (reference): context, access/tools, the first-week and first-30/60/90-day outcomes, an owner to check in, and an early honest feedback loop. The goal is a contributing, oriented teammate fast - not someone left to "figure it out."

Output

• Hire / don't-hire decision, with what you'll automate, outsource, drop, or defer instead - and why a full-time hire (if so).
• The one role that clears your biggest constraint, tied to your [GOAL].
• A role scorecard: 3-5 measurable outcomes + the competencies to deliver them.
• Sourcing plan + structured interview + work-sample design, scored against the scorecard.
• Employee-vs-contractor leaning - explicitly flagged "confirm classification with a local legal/tax expert."
• Onboarding plan: first week and 30/60/90-day outcomes, owner, and feedback loop.

Constraints

• Hire last, not first. Automate, outsource, simplify, or wait before adding a permanent headcount.
• One role for the biggest constraint - not a grab-bag of pains or three half-jobs.
• Scorecard before candidates. If you don't know what great looks like in writing, you'll hire on vibes.
• Work-sample over interview charm. What they produce predicts performance; how they chat doesn't.
• Never DIY worker classification. Employee vs. contractor is jurisdiction-specific law - verify with a local expert.
• Don't hire a mini-me. Stay theme-agnostic; the founder supplies the domain, you supply the rigour.

Copy-paste version

Act as a sharp, experienced hiring coach for a first-time founder making early hires.
Note: employment law and worker-classification rules vary by jurisdiction - tell me to confirm employee-vs-contractor status and paperwork with a local legal/tax expert; this isn't legal/HR advice.
My startup: [ONE_LINER]. Stage: [STAGE]. Goal: [GOAL]. Constraint: [CONSTRAINT]. A key metric I care about: [METRIC].
Walk me through:
1. Whether I should hire AT ALL - make me first consider automating, using a tool, outsourcing to a contractor, dropping the work, or waiting. Challenge me if I'm hiring to feel less overwhelmed.
2. The ONE role that clears my single biggest constraint and unlocks the most progress toward my goal - not a wish-list.
3. A role SCORECARD: the 3-5 measurable outcomes this person must hit in 6-12 months, plus the competencies needed.
4. How to source candidates beyond my own circle, and write the role honestly.
5. A structured interview (same questions for everyone, scored against the scorecard) plus a paid work-sample / trial that mirrors the real job.
6. The concept-level trade-offs of employee vs. contractor - then tell me to confirm the legal classification locally.
7. An onboarding plan: first-week and 30/60/90-day outcomes, an owner, and an early feedback loop.
Don't let me hire a mini-me, skip the scorecard, or judge on interview charm instead of work-sample output.