Hiring early employees can make or break a startup, and Bengaluru CA Meenal Goel recently shared a candid story about her first experience. Her first hire, a talented and enthusiastic employee, quit within three months. The exit interview revealed a hard truth: lack of clarity and constantly shifting goals left him frustrated and burnt out. Meenal realised that enthusiasm alone wasn’t enough—structure, clear expectations, and defined goals were essential to retain talent and build a thriving team.
Meenal explained that early-stage hiring is riskier than most founders realise. When she hired her first employee, Meenal had no onboarding process, no key performance indicators, and no structured 30-60-90 day goals, expecting the new hire to “figure it out” on the job.
The realisation hit hard: as a founder, chaos is part of the role, but employees have a right to clarity. Determined to fix the problem, Meenal redesigned her hiring approach for the next recruit. She created a detailed role description that went beyond “we all do everything,” set measurable 30-60-90 day goals, held weekly one-on-ones to track progress and address roadblocks, and documented processes so employees wouldn’t be dependent on her memory.
The results were immediate. The second hire, given proper structure and guidance, remained with the company for over ten months and was performing exceptionally well. Meenal’s key takeaway is that early employees don’t join startups for salary alone—they are invested in the mission, growth, and clarity. Without offering these, even the most talented hires are likely to leave, and founders must take responsibility for creating an environment that allows them to thrive.
The story underscores a critical lesson for early-stage startups: clarity, structure, and communication are just as important as hiring the right talent. For founders, building processes and expectations is not optional—it’s essential for retaining talent and driving long-term success.
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The realisation hit hard: as a founder, chaos is part of the role, but employees have a right to clarity. Determined to fix the problem, Meenal redesigned her hiring approach for the next recruit. She created a detailed role description that went beyond “we all do everything,” set measurable 30-60-90 day goals, held weekly one-on-ones to track progress and address roadblocks, and documented processes so employees wouldn’t be dependent on her memory.
The results were immediate. The second hire, given proper structure and guidance, remained with the company for over ten months and was performing exceptionally well. Meenal’s key takeaway is that early employees don’t join startups for salary alone—they are invested in the mission, growth, and clarity. Without offering these, even the most talented hires are likely to leave, and founders must take responsibility for creating an environment that allows them to thrive.
The story underscores a critical lesson for early-stage startups: clarity, structure, and communication are just as important as hiring the right talent. For founders, building processes and expectations is not optional—it’s essential for retaining talent and driving long-term success.
