Mediocre engineers do not build great companies; this is especially true in startups where every hire can impact the culture significantly.

Hiring someone just because they are available can be a mistake; it’s important to ensure that the hire aligns with the startup's current needs and stage.

In the early days of a startup, it's better to lose customers than to hire a sub-optimal employee, as the damage to the company can be significant.

Hiring the right team is crucial; poor hiring decisions can lead to a startup's failure, while a great team can drive success.

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.

The cost of making a bad early hire is high; many startups never recover from a poor first hire, so take the time to ensure that new hires align with your company's culture and mission.

Starting a company with a team of business people often leads to hiring lower-quality engineers, which compounds future hiring challenges.

Just because you're a startup founder doesn't mean you're good at hiring and managing people; this realization often comes after the first experience.

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.