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Ever bring on a hire who looked amazing on paper… and six weeks later, you’re doing their job and yours?Ouch. That’s not just burnout fuel; it’s startup suicide.
When you’re building from scratch, the wrong hire doesn’t just slow you down. It sinks morale. Wastes precious runway. Distracts you from the one thing you must do: grow.
The truth is: your first hire isn’t about scale. It’s about survival.
And that hire better be a Swiss Army knife, not a scalpel.
Let’s break down exactly why your first hire should be a generalist and the 5 traits you must look for if you want to stay alive long enough to thrive.
Imagine your startup is a plane mid-flight. You’re patching the wings while dodging birds and figuring out how to land. You don’t need a specialist who only installs tray tables. You need someone who grabs duct tape, buckles the seatbelt, pours the coffee, and helps you keep the damn plane in the air.
A generalist isn’t just “multi-talented.” They’re resourceful. Scrappy. Fast learners who don’t whine when plans change, because in a startup, they always do.
Your first hire isn’t joining a company. They’re joining a mission. And that mission needs someone who can wear ten hats without losing their head.
These aren’t résumé bullets.
These are mindset signals.Here’s what you’re really hiring for.
You don’t have time for committee meetings.
You need someone who sees a problem, says “got it,” and starts solving before Slack even loads.
This is the do first, ask later muscle. Not recklessness initiative.
They test, ship, fix. They don’t need a perfect plan. They just need a North Star.
Coaching Cue:
In early startups, speed matters more than polish.
Ask candidates: “What’s something you shipped fast and fixed later?”
Generalists who thrive don’t say “that’s not my job.”
They say, “I’ll figure it out.”
They don’t need babysitting.
They think like founders—because they want to become one someday.
They treat your startup’s money like it’s their money.
They obsess over results, not just responsibilities.
Coaching Cue:
Look for examples where they solved cross-functional problems without being told.
Ask: “Tell me about a time you took on something outside your role.”
The best early hires are curious enough to learn fast and humble enough to ask when they don’t know.
They don’t fake it. They figure it out.
They ask sharp questions, not to prove they’re smart but to understand what matters.
They read the docs, study the customer, tweak the copy.
They aren’t above any task. Because in a startup, nothing’s beneath you.
Coaching Cue:
Ask: “What’s the last thing you taught yourself from scratch?”
Bonus points if they say: “I saw something broken, so I built a better version.”
Startups break people who crave certainty.
Your first hire needs the emotional range to weather chaos without panic.
They don’t crumble when a launch flops or a customer ghosts.
They bounce back. They adapt. They keep moving.
You want someone who can take a punch and still make the next sales call.
Coaching Cue:
Ask: “What’s a time things went sideways—and how did you respond?”
You’re listening for stories of grit, not perfection.
This is the big one.
You’re hiring someone who builds not someone who waits for instructions.
They prototype landing pages, mock up customer emails, spin up Zapier workflows, or hack together Airtable CRMs just to keep momentum.
They see gaps and fill them.
They don’t ask for permission they ask what’s possible.
Coaching Cue:
Ask: “If you joined next week, what’s the first thing you’d build to help us grow?”
If they need three weeks of onboarding before they start creating, you’ve got the wrong person.
Here’s your founder checklist for filtering early candidates:
Hiring the right generalist isn’t just about plugging a gap.
It’s about buying back your focus.
With them owning ops, outreach, or onboarding, you get to focus on the founder’s real job:
Vision, traction, fundraising, culture.
The wrong hire adds stress.
The right one? They give you leverage.
Your startup isn’t a machine yet. It’s a campfire.
You don’t need people who clock in. You need people who throw on logs and keep the fire burning.
Don’t wait until you’re overwhelmed.
Hire someone who makes you sharper, not someone you have to manage.
And if you’ve already made your first hire…
Reread those 5 traits.
Are you nurturing them? Or compensating for their absence?
You know what to do.
