What goes wrong with the first growth hire
Growth people are usually hired to scale something that works. At an early startup, nothing works reliably yet. There is no repeatable channel, no proven message and no sales process, so the new hire spends months trying to find what the founders had not found either.
Startups also tend to hire from larger companies, where the person had a brand, a budget and a team behind them. Without those, very good people can struggle.
- Hired before product market fit, so there is nothing to scale
- Expected to find a channel and scale it at the same time
- Experienced only with large budgets or an established brand
- Measured on revenue targets set before anyone knew what was possible
Why the first sales hire fails
Sales hires fail for a similar reason. If the founders have not yet closed customers themselves, there is no playbook to hand over. The salesperson ends up learning the product, the market and the objections from scratch, while being judged on quota.
How to make the role work
Founders should do the first sales and early growth work themselves, until they can describe what works and why. Then hire someone to repeat and scale it, with clear goals for the first ninety days that are about learning as well as numbers.
Look for people who have worked at an early stage before. Someone who has built a channel from nothing is more useful than someone who has only optimised one.
When a bad hire is part of a bigger problem
A growth hire that does not work out is often a sign that the startup has not found product market fit. If several attempts at growth have failed, read no product market fit and wrong hires.
Common questions
Why do first growth hires fail?
Mostly because they are hired before there is anything repeatable to grow. They end up searching for product market fit rather than scaling it, without the budget or brand they had before.
When should a startup make its first growth hire?
After the founders have found at least one channel that reliably brings in customers and can explain why it works.
Why do first sales hires fail?
Because there is no proven sales process to follow. Founders should close the first customers themselves and write down what worked before hiring.