Solo Founder Hiring Guide: Your First Engineers

The Solo Founder Challenge

Why This Is Hard

Solo founders face unique hiring challenges:

What Great First Engineers Want

The engineers who thrive as first hires are different from those who succeed at established companies:

They want:

• Real ownership - Not just "equity," but actual influence on product and technical decisions
• Learning velocity - To grow faster than they could at a big company
• Impact visibility - To see their code ship to real users quickly
• Autonomy - To make technical decisions without layers of approval
• Founder access - To work directly with the person building the company

They don't want:

• Process and structure (yet)
• Narrow specialization
• Slow decision-making
• Layers between them and the product

Your Hiring Advantages (Use Them)

1. Equity That Actually Matters

At a big company, 0.001% equity is meaningless. As a solo founder, you can offer 1-2% that could be life-changing.

How to pitch equity:

• "If we hit [realistic milestone], your 2% is worth [specific number]"
• Compare to big company equity: "You'd need to work at Google for 50 years to get this much ownership"
• Show the math: "At our last valuation of $X, your equity is already worth $Y"

Make it concrete. Don't say "meaningful equity"—show the numbers.

2. Direct Impact

At a big company, engineers ship features that might never see users. As a solo founder, every line of code matters.

How to pitch impact:

• "The code you write next week will be used by our first 100 users"
• "You'll make technical decisions that shape our entire product"
• "No tickets that die in prioritization—you decide what gets built"

3. Learning Velocity

At a big company, growth is slow and political. As a solo founder, engineers can go from "first hire" to "tech lead" in 18 months.

How to pitch growth:

• "You'll learn more in 6 months here than 2 years at a big company"
• "As we scale, you'll be leading a team"
• "You'll touch every part of the stack—frontend, backend, infrastructure"

4. Mission and Vision

Some engineers are motivated by problems, not paychecks. If your mission resonates, you'll attract people who genuinely care.

How to pitch mission:

• Lead with the problem, not the company
• Share why you're building this (personal story)
• Be specific about who this helps and why it matters

Where to Find Your First Engineer

Best Sources (Ranked)

1. Your personal network - Ask everyone: "Who's a great engineer looking for early-stage opportunities?"
2. Founder communities - YC, Indie Hackers, On Deck have hiring channels
3. daily.dev - Developers actively learning are often open to new challenges
4. Twitter/X - Build in public and attract interested developers
5. Open source - Contributors to projects you use might be interested
6. Previous colleagues - People who've worked with you trust you

Avoid These Sources

• Traditional job boards - You'll drown in unqualified applicants
• Large recruiting agencies - They don't understand solo founder dynamics
• Cold LinkedIn messages - Low response rate, often wrong candidates
• Upwork/Fiverr - You need a co-founder, not a contractor

The Hiring Process

Speed Wins

Your biggest advantage is agility. Big companies take 6-8 weeks. You can do it in 2.

Target timeline:

• Day 1: Initial screen (30 min)
• Day 3-5: Technical conversation or take-home (2 hours max)
• Day 7-10: Deep dive + equity discussion
• Day 10-14: Offer and close

If you're slower than this, you're losing candidates to companies that move faster.

Make It Personal

You're not recruiting at scale—use that to your advantage:

• You should be involved - Candidates want to know who they're working for
• Customize your pitch - Research what matters to each candidate
• Be available - Answer questions same-day, not next week
• Show genuine interest - This isn't a transaction, it's a partnership

The Technical Assessment

Keep it simple and relevant:

Option 1: Take-home (preferred)

• 2-3 hour project that mirrors real work
• Something they can actually use/showcase
• Review together and discuss trade-offs

Option 2: Pair programming

• 1-2 hour session building something together
• See how they think and communicate
• More authentic than whiteboard coding

Avoid:

• 8-hour take-homes
• LeetCode-style algorithm questions
• Multiple rounds of technical interviews

The Closing Conversation

When you're ready to make an offer:

1. Ask what they're looking for - Don't assume you know
2. Address concerns directly - Stability, runway, failure scenarios
3. Present the full picture - Salary, equity breakdown, growth path
4. Create urgency without pressure - "We're moving fast and would love to have you. What do you need to decide?"
5. Give them time, but not too much - 1 week is reasonable; 3 weeks means they're not excited

Common Solo Founder Mistakes

1. Apologizing for Being Early-Stage

Don't say: "I know we can't compete with Google salaries, but..."
Do say: "Google can't offer what we offer: meaningful equity, direct impact, and growth velocity."

Own your value proposition confidently.

2. Hiring Too Senior

Staff engineers from FAANG often struggle in solo founder chaos. They're used to infrastructure, process, and clear requirements. Your ambiguity will frustrate them.

Better: Hire hungry mid-level engineers who want to grow into senior roles.

3. Over-Selling Stability

Don't pretend you have 3 years of runway if you have 12 months. Don't promise "startup feel with enterprise stability." The right candidates aren't looking for stability—they're looking for opportunity.

Be honest about the risk. It's a filter that attracts the right people.

4. Copying Big Company Processes

You don't need 5 interview rounds, a hiring committee, and a take-home project. You need to move fast and make good judgments. Keep it to 3-4 touchpoints maximum.

5. Waiting for the "Perfect" Candidate

You'll never find someone who checks every box. Hire for trajectory and culture fit. Skills can be developed; motivation and mindset can't.

6. Not Being Transparent About Equity

Be clear about:

• What percentage they're getting
• What the company is valued at (if you've raised)
• What happens if the company fails (they lose equity, but gain experience)
• Vesting schedule (typically 4 years with 1-year cliff)

Equity Structure for First Hires

Typical Ranges

• First engineer (employee #1): 1-2% equity
• Second engineer (employee #2): 0.75-1.5% equity
• Third engineer (employee #3): 0.5-1% equity

Vesting

• Standard: 4 years with 1-year cliff
• Meaning: They get 25% after year 1, then monthly vesting
• Why: Protects you if they leave early, protects them if you fire them unfairly

How to Present Equity

Bad:

• "We offer competitive equity"
• "You'll get equity that could be worth a lot"

Good:

• "We're offering 1.5% equity. If we hit [realistic milestone] and raise at a $10M valuation, that's $150K. If we exit at $50M, that's $750K."
• "Your equity vests over 4 years with a 1-year cliff. After year 1, you'll have 25% vested."

Red Flags (For You)

Watch for these warning signs that a candidate isn't right for solo founder stage:

• Asks about process - "What's the on-call rotation?" or "Who writes the requirements?" signals someone who needs more structure
• Focuses entirely on work-life balance - Early-stage requires intensity; that's part of the deal
• Wants to specialize - You need generalists who can wear multiple hats
• Needs lots of hand-holding - You don't have time to manage closely
• Asks about promotion timeline - They're thinking like a big company employee, not a builder

Building Trust as a Solo Founder

Be Honest About Risk

Don't pretend failure isn't possible. Say: "There's a real chance this doesn't work. But if it does, you'll have shaped something meaningful and your equity will be valuable."

Show Progress

Even if you're pre-product, show:

• Code you've written
• Users you've talked to
• Traction you've gotten
• Investors you've met

Demonstrate Technical Competence

If you're technical, show your code. If you're not, show you understand the technical challenges. Candidates need to trust you can build this.

Share Your Vision

Be specific about:

• What you're building and why
• Who your users are
• What success looks like in 12 months
• How they fit into that vision