Hiring for a startup is a key strategic step. As soon as your initial income starts coming in, you should start drafting your startup team structure.
Hiring for a startup is challenging and exciting at the same time. So, we have compiled the list of first hires for a startup, that will guide you in the early stages.
Strategically, you should prioritize the positions you should have in-house and the jobs you can outsource. Let us discuss the first 5 positions to hire for a startup in-house, and then we will go over the list of business processes that you can outsource.
When hiring for a startup, you should focus on such skills as flexibility and passion. In the early stages of your startup, when your budget is tight, your startup team will need to adapt quickly and take on some extra responsibilities. Therefore, your new startup team should be passionate enough about your success and willing to play multiple roles before you can afford to expand.
Your list of first hires for a startup depends on your business needs and the type of tech projects you are running. However, we have added a list of the most common positions to hire for your IT startup. If you already have a long-term project, you can outsource your tech staffing to HIRECLOUT and concentrate on other business-related activities.
For now, let’s proceed to the first 5 positions you need to recruit when hiring for a startup.
1. Chief Executive Officer
C-levels are among the first hires for your tech startup. Next, you need to gather a team of talents to set up your startup team structure and help you grow. Chief executive officers are responsible for handling the complete business control and directing it to soar heights. CEO is there to bear the company vision and establish a working business culture. A tech startup needs to have a company culture that will unite the future team.
2. Chief Technology Officer
A chief technology office should be among the first hires for a tech startup. Especially for IT startups, where all business decisions are influenced by the technology you are using, it is crucial to managing the operations.
The chief technology officer will be a professional guide for your future team of software engineers. Especially when starting a tech company, the development team is at the core of business success. So even though you can start with a remote team, it is more practical for a tech startup to have an internal team in charge of the technical part.
3. IT Product or Project Manager
As a tech startup, you are either developing a software product in-house or have several outsourced projects. In both cases, you will need a person in your startup team to manage the projects. When it comes to project outsourcing companies, the project manager is in charge of all the questions related to your client’s projects.
In tech startups, project managers or product managers are responsible for organizing the team, managing their performance, and ensuring results.
4. Integrated Marketing Manager
As soon as you have your startup business plan, you need to promote it. So, your initial hiring for a startup should include marketing.
You have the CEO with a clear vision, and now you need to communicate it to your target audience. So here comes the need to have a marketing specialist on the list of first hires for a startup.
Why an integrated marketing manager? A marketing specialist takes care of all things marketing. Therefore your marketing manager should be flexible enough to handle a multi-functional role until you can afford to scale and allocate a separate set of responsibilities to niche-specific marketing professionals.
5. Business Development Manager
Now that you’re all set to grow and you have a solid foundation to develop your business, you can hand the reins to a business development manager.
Business development managers for tech startups will establish and develop business partnerships.
The key responsibilities of a business development manager are to increase your revenue and boost your growth potential.
Having a business development manager as one of your first hires means you can also rely on them to reach new markets. Expansion and growth hacking are the new normal for tech startups.
In Summary
As a tech startup you must establish a long-lasting team. Apart from hiring your first employees separately, you need to have an efficient internal communications strategy. For example, your marketing manager should listen to customer feedback and communicate it back to the product team. You need to create an environment of open communication among your startup team, not to have communication silos.
As a founder of a tech startup, you are the first touchpoint for your employees. Make sure you prepare for your hiring process properly and get ready to ask revealing questions to your job candidates. It is important to create a dynamic interview, not a QA session. Take your time to prepare.
You may wonder why we haven’t added a tech recruiter position to the list of tech startup first hires. The reason is because you can allocate your entire tech recruitment process to HIRECLOUT, and our team will deliver results! As a tech startup, you are already struggling with your competition in the market, and it is reasonable to outsource your hiring processes to the top professionals in tech recruitment. As a team of tech-savvy recruiters, we are committed to growing your team and taking the necessary steps to increase retention rates of top talents in your team.
