The first hiring plan for an early startup

The first hiring plan of an early-stage startup is not an org chart. It is a short document that says which problems the current team cannot solve, in what order to tackle them, what it costs, and what happens to your runway with each new person. In most cases the right answer is to hire fewer people than you think, one at a time, after trying to cover the need in other ways. The plan helps you decide, and it helps investors understand how you will use their capital.

In short

• Start from a list of concrete problems, not a list of job titles.
• For each need, weigh three routes: a hire, an outside collaborator, or automation and doing without.
• Calculate the full cost of each hire, not just the salary, and its effect on runway.
• Choose the contract type with an employment adviser: the differences between contracts affect cost, flexibility and risk.
• If you are a registered Italian innovative startup, check the tools available for stock options and work for equity.

Start from problems, not roles

The typical first mistake is writing "we need a CTO, a head of marketing and two developers". That describes an imaginary company, not yours. Instead, list the things that today are not getting done, or are done badly, and that block the next milestone.

Examples of well-framed problems:

• "Change requests from pilot customers sit for two weeks because only one founder writes code."
• "Nobody follows up with leads after the first demo."
• "Bookkeeping and invoicing take one day a week from a founder."

For each problem, write the milestone it unlocks (a contract, a release, a round), how many hours a week it takes and what skills it needs. At this point some needs already turn out to be temporary or solvable with a tool.

Three routes for every need

For each problem, compare three options explicitly:

1. A hire: right when the need is ongoing, central to the product or to customer relationships, and when you want to build the skill in-house.
2. An outside collaborator: a freelancer, a firm or a supplier. Right for specialist, periodic work, or work you want to validate before hiring. Watch the real nature of the relationship: a collaborator working full time on your hours and under your direction raises questions to discuss with your employment adviser.
3. Automation or doing without: sometimes the answer is a software tool, a simpler process, or a conscious decision not to do that thing for six months.

Putting the three options side by side, with costs and timing, makes the discussion between founders much more concrete.

Order matters more than headcount

With limited resources, the sequence of hires decides a lot. A practical rule: the first person to join should clear the bottleneck that is slowing everything else down. If the product cannot cope with the pilot customers, strengthen development before sales. If the product works but nobody follows up leads, do the opposite.

For each planned hire, write down:

• the trigger: the event that starts the search (a signed contract, the round closing, a customer threshold);
• the estimated time to find and onboard the person, which is usually longer than you hope;
• the expected result in the first three months, written so it can be checked.

Tying hires to triggers rather than fixed dates protects you: if the round slips, the spending slips too.

Calculate the full cost and the effect on runway

The gross salary agreed with the person is not the cost to the company. An Italian employment contract also carries employer social contributions, accruals such as the TFR severance fund, any deferred pay instalments, and onboarding costs: equipment, licences, founder time spent on training. An outside collaborator carries instead their own tax and social security set-up and possibly VAT.

Do not use generic percentages found online: ask your employment adviser (consulente del lavoro) for a simulation of the company cost for each contract option. Then put each hire into your month-by-month cash model and look at two numbers:

• how much runway each hire takes away;
• which milestone must be reached before cash falls below the safety threshold you set yourselves.

If a hire shortens runway without bringing a clear milestone closer, postpone it.

Contracts and tools for innovative startups

The choice of contract type should be made with a professional, because it changes cost, flexibility, protections and the risk of disputes. For startups registered in the special section of the Italian Business Register, however, there are a few tools worth knowing before you talk to your adviser.

According to the Business Register's information sheet on innovative startups:

• the startup can pay its collaborators with stock options, and outside service providers such as lawyers and accountants through work for equity schemes;
• these awards are neutral for tax and social security purposes for the people who receive them;
• fixed-term contracts of 6 to 36 months are allowed, including short contracts renewed several times within that window, with one further renewal of up to 12 months, for a maximum of 48 months; after that, the relationship can continue only on an open-ended contract.

The rules for innovative startups have been amended over time and the details matter. Before using these tools, check the law in force and the eligibility requirements with your accountant and employment adviser, and put in writing a stock option plan with clear vesting and leaver rules.

What to do this month

1. Write the list of problems blocking the next milestone, with the weekly time each one takes.
2. For each, compare a hire, an outside collaborator, and automation or doing without.
3. Order the needs starting from the main bottleneck and give each one a trigger.
4. Ask your employment adviser for a company-cost simulation for each option.
5. Add the hires to your cash model and check the effect on runway.
6. If you are an innovative startup, review stock options and work for equity with your advisers.
7. If you want to discuss your plan with someone outside the team, get in touch.

You will find templates for the hiring plan and the cash model in Resources, and you can compare approaches with other founders in the community.

Sources

• Italian Business Register, information sheet on innovative startups (Italian)

This article is general guidance and does not replace advice from an employment adviser or an accountant.

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