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Step 06 / 08 · Build the team
Do you have the right team? A startup becomes a company the moment other people depend on it, and the team you build sets the ceiling on everything else.
Why it matters
Early hires shape culture more than any values statement. Each one raises or lowers the bar, and in a small team you feel it right away. A wrong hire costs far more than a slow one.
Remote-first is now the default. It opens the world’s talent to a small company, but only if you design for it: written communication, clear ownership, and a rhythm that doesn’t need everyone in one room.
How to do it
Define the few roles that remove your biggest bottlenecks. Everything else can be fractional, contracted or automated.
A written scorecard, structured interviews, a work sample and reference calls. Consistency beats instinct.
The first 30 days decide whether a hire succeeds. Give every new hire a written ramp, a buddy and three early wins.
Written decisions, async updates, overlapping hours and deliberate time together in person.
Contracts, equity, compensation bands and a simple review cycle. Before the tenth hire, not after the fiftieth.
Common mistakes
You’re ready for the next step when
From the studio
Joaquim scaled MLG Blockchain from 4 to 120 employees in 9 months, fully remote, with zero external funding. Onboarding held it together: a one-month structured ramp, a buddy for every hire and clear Slack norms. He later built the HR function at Secure Digital Markets as it grew from 9 to 40.
Where the studio can help
Hiring plans, recruiting pipelines, onboarding and the HR foundations you need before you need them.
Experience · Scaled MLG Blockchain from 4 to 120 employees in 9 months. Built the HR function at Secure Digital Markets as it grew from 9 to 40.
Distributed teams that work: an async cadence, clear tooling, written documentation and a culture that survives distance.
Experience · Has built and run companies from 75+ countries. MLG Blockchain grew to 120 people fully remote.
Leading your team through growth, reorganizations and new systems, including the human side of adopting AI.
Experience · COO through hypergrowth at MLG Blockchain. Installed HR and marketing systems as Chief of Staff at Secure Digital Markets.
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Work with the studio
Tell us what you’re building and what you need. We read every application, and every founder gets an answer.
