Overhiring is a common mistake that can lead to financial strain; founders should avoid this by ensuring they only hire when absolutely necessary.

The instinct to over-hire often leads founders to believe they need more people, but this can result in higher employee burn and lower runway.

Building a team aggressively but thoughtfully is crucial; ideally, you should not double the size of your company in any given year to avoid creating a shaky foundation.

Hiring too quickly can be tempting, but every hire should be seen as an investment, and you need to ensure that you're getting a return on that investment.

In the early stages of hiring, be cautious about adding people when you don't have product-market fit, as each new hire can add momentum in the wrong direction; once you find product-market fit, you should hire rapidly to build energy behind your direction.

Investing in people who might take a long time to hire is crucial when you're early in a company's history.

Avoid hiring too early; ensure your product provides value before expanding your team.

If you hire the wrong people early on, those mistakes will propagate, making it much harder to correct course and build a coherent company culture later.

Hiring is a painful process that takes a lot of time and can feel like a low priority for founders, but neglecting it can hinder your startup's growth.