🚀 We Just Raised Funding, Now What?
A Founder’s Guide to Hiring Fast (Without Losing Your Mind)
You did it! After countless Zoom pitches, enough coffee to stun a rhino, and more deck versions than Pokémon cards, you landed that seed or Series A. Investors are jazz-handing. Your team is fist-bumping. The runway looks pleasantly long.
Now comes the plot twist: building the team that can actually deliver. (Spoiler: this is where many promising startups pancake.)
Why Hiring Is the First Real Test After You Raise
For early-stage companies, hiring is the hinge that swings momentum open—or slams it shut.
Big-co playbooks don’t work here:
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Endless interview rounds? → your dream candidate ghosts.
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Bloated JD templates? → repel the very misfits you need.
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Fifty-slide culture decks? → nice, but you still have zero engineers.
What you need instead:
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Speed without sloppiness
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Precision without paralysis
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Talent that thrives in today’s chaos—not a future org chart
🥇 Step 1 – Decide Who You Need Now (and Who Can Wait)
Most founders sprint to LinkedIn the moment the wire hits. Slow your roll.
Ask: Which roles will genuinely move the needle in the next six months?
✅ Do
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Prioritize the 1–2 hires that unblock revenue, product, or uptime.
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Write a one-sentence success metric for each (“This PM ships X feature by Q3”).
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Think two stages ahead—but hire for this one.
🚫 Don’t
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Stuff your headcount plan with every future role under the sun.
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Hire managers when you don’t yet have anyone to manage.
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Copy another startup’s org chart (especially one that just laid off 20%).
Real-world example:
When Figma raised its Series A, it didn’t stack VPs. It hired two generalist engineers who could do design tooling, infra, and coffee runs. Shipping speed tripled.
Free cheat sheet: Use our 👉 Growth Planner to map high-impact roles by stage.
✍️ Step 2 – Write a Job Description That Actually Works
Your JD is marketing copy, not legalese.
✅ Start with
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Why this role matters right now (“We need our first Growth PM to 3× free-to-paid conversions”).
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What success looks like in 90 days (tangible, measurable).
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Why your startup is weird & wonderful (mission, tech, meme culture).
🚫 Avoid
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Bullet lists longer than a CVS receipt.
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Buzzwords like rockstar, ninja, fast-paced (everyone says that).
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“Competitive salary” with zero range (just tell them).
Real-world example:
Buffer’s open-sourced salary formula turned their job ads into viral LinkedIn fodder—and 3× candidate volume overnight.
📥 Want templates? Download the Startup Recruiting Guide (free).
⚡ Step 3 – Run a Fast, Human Hiring Process
You do not need six rounds and three take-home projects.
What you do need:
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Align on what “great” looks like (15-minute calibration meeting).
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Respond to candidates within 24 hours—speed signals respect.
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Make decisions in ≤ 48 hours of final interview.
Pro tip: At Funded.club, our clients hire in 33 days on average—first candidates in under 7 days—because we shrink the loop.
Speed matters not just to beat the market but to show top talent you’re serious.
🧑🚀 Step 4 – Don’t Wear Every Hat Yourself
Founders moonlighting as recruiters often end up with:
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Launch delays
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Missed revenue
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And, occasionally, catastrophic hires (see: former Theranos COO 🙃)
Partner with specialists who
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Understand startup urgency & burn rates
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Pre-screen for startup DNA (bias for action, ambiguity muscle)
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Charge fixed fees, not 25% commission 🔪
Good news: Funded.club does exactly that—transparent project pricing, no nasty surprises.
🏁 Final Thought: Hiring Fast ≠ Hiring Carelessly
Moving fast doesn’t mean winging it. It means:
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Planning intentionally
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Writing with clarity
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Interviewing with purpose
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Deciding quickly
You’ve built something investors believe in; now build the team that turns belief into traction.
🎁 Grab Your Free Growth Planner
Budget your hires, timeline, and costs in one spreadsheet.
👉 Download the Growth Planner — and hit the ground hiring.
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