Why the First 10 Hires of a Startup Define Everything
How to build your startup’s DNA with the right team members
The very first team members of a startup literally write its culture. As Stripe’s founder notes, “the initial employees have a fundamental role in shaping the company culture. Their behaviour, work ethic and interactions establish the norms and values that will define the organisation’s character”. Every communication style, habit and attitude of those first hires become the benchmark for future hires. In practical terms, early team members become the company’s first managers and customer-facing ambassadors, setting unspoken rules on how problems are solved and success is pursued. Smart founders take this seriously: as one startup leader puts it, “your first ten employees don’t just do the work – they define how decisions get made, how people communicate and how the team handles pressure.”. In short, your first ten hires are the DNA of the company.
Because early hires set the tone for everything – from speed of execution to work habits – founders must hire for attitude as much as skill. One entrepreneur sums it up bluntly: Hire missionaries, not mercenaries. That means looking for people passionate about the problem and willing to own outcomes – not just clock-watchers or resume hunters. Big-brand pedigree often doesn’t predict startup success. In fact, many experts warn that “success at a large company doesn’t predict success in a startup environment”. Early-stage startups need scrappy generalists who can create order from chaos, not specialists who rely on established processes. In practice, this means don’t build your startup team by chasing famous names. Instead, hire people who have an entrepreneurial “agency”: those who act like owners, take initiative without being told, and thrive in uncertainty.
In practical terms, a winning profile for the first ten hires often looks like a blend of agency, adaptability, and relentless drive. Founders should favor candidates who solve problems without permission, don’t need to be told what to do and can zoom in and out at will. These are the folks who treat the company’s mission as their own. As Brian Fink writes, the ideal early hire has hard skills that map to real outcomes (coding, selling, designing, etc.) and soft skills that scream ownership – clear communication, initiative, and decisiveness. In short, look for founder DNA: people who think like founders, not employees – who lose sleep over big problems and celebrate the company’s wins as if they were their own.
Entrepreneurial mindset: Early hires must feel like co-founders. They should approach work by asking, “How will I move the business forward?” as one founder recommends. Candidates who immediately jump to strategize improvements will naturally take ownership of their roles.
Adaptability over titles: Young companies are messy. Founders should prefer candidates comfortable with change and ambiguity. As one YC startup blog puts it, in the early team you should “optimize for ability to get things done, not any specific experience”. Technical chops are great, but what really matters is flexibility: hires willing to wear multiple hats and pivot as needed. In practice, this often means shunning over-specialized hires; the best early team members become T-shaped, combining deep expertise in one area with a readiness to help everywhere else.
Relentless ownership: A startup founder says the #1 requirement for success is to “never stop” – a determination that outpaces any normal 9–5 schedule. In a growing startup, no team member should be thinking “clock-out at 5pm”. Instead, early employees should be those who willingly go the extra mile – fixing things late at night or on weekends because they care.
Values and culture fit: Technical skills can be taught; values and work ethic cannot. Many successful founders deliberately hire younger employees with aligned values because “competence can be acquired, but the character they bring is far harder to replicate”. It’s better to have a team that shares the same mission-driven ethos – even if they need mentoring – than highly experienced hires who aren’t aligned with the startup’s all-in hustle. Building a startup with strict “9-to-5ers” who leave at 5pm sharp is a recipe for trouble.
Another key principle: Balance seniors and juniors. On one hand, you want some seasoned hires – people who have scaled companies before and can prevent catastrophic mistakes. On the other hand, you need scrappy juniors who are hungry to learn and willing to put in the grind. Startups often succeed by mixing the battle-tested judgment of a few veterans with the energy and malleability of younger employees. Fresh graduates or early-career hires might lack experience, but they bring fresh ideas and stamina. Veterans, meanwhile, provide mentorship and strategic oversight. The exact mix varies by startup, but a good rule of thumb is: hire enough experience to avoid obvious pitfalls, then fill the rest of the roster with tenacious builders. As Lenny Rachitsky found, most startups hire engineers first, but they also often hire domain experts or support people early on to complement the founders’ skills.
Above all, early hiring should prioritize mission and trajectory over prestige. Avoid hiring for cachet, for example, someone because they “were at Google”. Such hires often struggle without the big-company support they’re used to. Instead, look for candidates who demonstrate they’ll grow with your startup. The right early hire not only contributes immediately, but raises the bar for everyone else. They set a “benchmark” that future hires are measured against.
In summary, your first ten team members should be mission-driven, adaptable builders who share your startup’s values and aren’t afraid of hard work. They should have either a founder’s mindset or a burning entrepreneurial itch – people who wanted to start their own company and still think like one. Mix in a handful of experienced leaders for guidance, but fill the ranks with versatile juniors ready to hustle. Always remember: early employees do more than fill roles – they create your startup’s culture and momentum. Hire wisely, and you’ll have a founding team that can conquer long odds. Hire poorly, and even great ideas can stall.