When you’re building something from the ground up, hiring decisions aren’t just about filling roles. They’re about shaping the DNA of your business.
The right hire can unlock growth, change your trajectory, and take pressure off your shoulders. The wrong hire can cost you time, money, morale—and in some cases, your business.
Yet time and time again, I see founders fall into the same trap: hiring people based on their big-brand credentials. It’s understandable. Someone who’s worked at Google, Amazon, Unilever, or Meta brings a sense of credibility, a bit of wow-factor. You think, “If they were good enough to get hired there, they’ll be amazing here.” But here’s the hard truth: success in a corporate doesn’t always translate to success in a start-up or scale-up. In fact, in many cases, it can be a total mismatch.
Large corporations operate in a completely different context. They have systems, processes, teams of specialists, comfortable budgets, and buffers for mistakes. Roles are often narrow and deep. People are supported by layers of infrastructure that keep things moving, even if individual performance is average. In contrast, a start-up or scale-up is messy. Roles are fluid. Resources are tight. You’re moving at speed, adapting in real-time, and building the plane while flying it. You need people who are agile, resourceful, hands-on—and who genuinely thrive in that environment.
The term “hands-on” itself is often misunderstood. In a corporate context, being hands-on might mean running a cross-functional project or overseeing a team. In a start-up, it could mean writing your own reports, fixing a Shopify bug at 7am, or negotiating with a supplier in a different time zone. Unless someone has actually lived through the early stages of a company’s growth, they won’t truly understand what “hands-on” looks like in your world. This isn’t to say corporate people can’t adapt—but the key is context. If you’re at £1M revenue and someone’s only ever managed £100M P&Ls with teams of 50, they might struggle to roll their sleeves up and work with what you’ve got.
That said, there is a sweet spot: people who’ve worked in both big and small businesses. Those individuals bring the best of both worlds. From their corporate experience, they understand structure, process, and strategic thinking. From their time in smaller companies, they know how to operate with limited resources, make fast decisions, and get their hands dirty. They’ve seen what good looks like at scale—and they’ve also lived the reality of doing a million things with a three-person team. They know when to follow best practice and when to throw out the playbook. When I look at some of our strongest hires over the years at The Cheeky Panda, they’re often people who’ve lived that duality. They bring structure without suffocating agility. They can zoom in and out. They get the vision and aren’t afraid to take out the bins if that’s what the day requires.
Another key point that founders often overlook is stage-fit. Just as companies go through different stages—start-up, scale-up, growth, maturity—so do employees. Someone who thrives in the scrappy, chaotic start-up stage might not be the right person to build systems and lead teams at scale. Conversely, someone who excels at scaling operations might feel lost without a clear structure in place. That’s why it’s important to be brutally honest about where your business is now, not just where you want it to be. Are you still validating product-market fit? Building your first proper team? Expanding into international markets? Each stage demands a different skillset—and different types of people. It’s not just about skills; it’s also about mindset. Some people get a buzz from building from scratch. Others prefer refining and optimising existing systems. Both are valid, but you need to align the hire to your current reality.
A bad hire is more than just a financial mistake. Yes, there’s the obvious cost: the salary, the recruitment fee, and any onboarding expenses. But the real damage is the lost time. It can take six months—or more—to realise someone isn’t working out. Then there’s the time spent managing the situation, trying to “fix” it, letting them go, and restarting the hiring process. By the time you bring in someone new and get them up to speed, you’ve potentially lost 12 to 18 months of momentum. That’s a brutal hit for a start-up. In that time, a competitor could have overtaken you. A retailer could have moved on. Your team could be burnt out from picking up the slack. The opportunity cost is often invisible, but it’s huge.
So how do you improve your odds? First, you need to hire for stage, not just pedigree. Ask candidates about the specific environments they’ve worked in. What was the size of the company? What was the budget? How many people were in the team? The more aligned they are with your current stage, the better. You also need to test for action, not just talk. Don’t rely on interviews alone. Give candidates a task or scenario that reflects what they’d actually face in the role. How would they handle a delayed shipment or a marketing campaign with no budget? You want to see how they think and act—not just what they say.
Look for self-awareness and adaptability. Ask them what they found hardest about moving between companies or roles. How did they adapt? Do they recognise what they’re good at—and where they struggle? And above all, be realistic. No one is perfect. But clarity is everything. Be clear about what the role involves, what support they’ll have, and what success looks like at 3, 6, and 12 months. Trust your gut, but check the facts. Cultural fit matters. But so does competence. Don’t get swept away by someone who “feels right” without backing it up with evidence from past roles or real tasks.
Hiring isn’t just a function of HR—it’s a strategic decision that will define the future of your business. The right person can unlock your next stage of growth. The wrong person can stall it completely. Don’t be dazzled by logos. Look beyond the CV. Find people who’ve walked your path—or at least know what shoes they’re stepping into. Because in the end, it’s not about the size of their past company. It’s about whether they can roll with the punches, get stuck in, and grow with you on this wild entrepreneurial journey.
