The most popular advice you hear is “don’t hire for as long as you can”. This is true. Hiring is awful, disappointing, exhausting and no-one cares about you.

But let’s say you have to hire and start delegating. First 10 hires will form a company culture and define the future.

Below, I’m sharing some tips, that I’ve learned hard way.

- Step 0 is to create a job posting. Make it as short as possible. List only top skills and top tasks. Make the description simple, as you are explaining to a 10-y old kid

- Before posting any ads online, do the search in your network. Ask yourself: “who is the smartest person you know?” This will save you a lot of time and bring higher quality candidates.

- As a founder, you should not have time to speak to every candidate. Chat with them via email first (not the messenger). See how well they behave, form their thought, format the text. And 90% of candidates disappear or show poor ethics.

- Ask for a few references. Talk to 2 - 3 people who were their employers, co-workers or even employees. Ask them open questions and let them talk.

- Do a project with them. We usually do a test that takes 2 - 5 days of work. We pay on hourly bases. This is a crucial part, that will show their ability to communicate and collaborate, be creative and actually execute.

- Take them out to dinner or drinks. The informal situation can uncover unexpected qualities.

- Make sure they want to take your job. For example, during the interview, I ask for what other positions they are interviewing. It’s better to uncover now, that their dream is to become a growth marketer or to work at Google when your position is sales in a healthcare startup.

Flag people who: - Say YES to everything. Sometimes it’s a part of the culture. - Seem arrogant - Talk bad about their previous employers, co-workers, clients or anyone else - Worked long in the companies with bad cultures

I hope these tips are useful. I’ll gladly answer any question.