How many founders have validated "hire individual contributors before managers to build deep product knowledge"?

1 founder has proven this pattern works. Examples include Stephanie Berner (Atlassian).

Founder MindsetEmerging Pattern

Hire individual contributors before managers to build deep product knowledge

Start with doers who can go deep on your product rather than managers. ICs handle the bulk of tactical day-to-day work. Only hire a manager first if you need to hire many more people very soon and want them to handle the IC recruiting.

When to use

When making your first hires in a new function (customer success, support, sales)

Don't do this

Hiring a manager first who then has to wait to see impact while they recruit ICs

1 Founder Who Did This

Atlassianby Stephanie Berner

Advises hiring IC customer success staff before managers because ICs handle bulk of tactical day-to-day work immediately

Result:Faster time-to-impact compared to hiring manager first; manager-first only when rapid subsequent hiring is planned

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