Bias toward no when uncertain about early hires - bad hires are costly at small scale
Early hiring decisions have outsized impact because each person represents a larger percentage of the team. When you're uncertain about a candidate, the cost of a wrong hire dramatically outweighs the cost of continuing to search. Being pessimistic saves heartache.
When to use
When evaluating candidates for your first 10-20 hires and you feel uncertain but pressure to fill the role quickly
Don't do this
Rushing to hire because recruiting is hard and you need help, only to spend months managing a bad fit
1 Founder Who Did This
Biases toward 'no' on early hires, recognizing that each hire at 10 people represents 10% team growth. Documents concerns, makes internal pitches about why hiring might fail, and evaluates candidates across compatibility, project success patterns, and core motivations in deep 60-minute interviews.