The Zero to $10M ARR Newsletter

$180K VP of Sales. Zero sales. $200K dev. No product shipped. My $2M lesson in hiring backwards.

I burned millions trying to ‘look like a real company’:

Here are some of the expensive hires that killed my runway:

• VP Sales ($180K base) when we had no sales process
• ‘Rockstar’ developer ($200K) who couldn’t ship MVP code
• Marketing Director ($150K) before product-market fit
• Content team ($30K/month) with no content strategy
• PR agency ($40K/month) for press nobody read

Why did I make these hires?

Truth: I was desperate.

• Competitors were growing faster
• Investors wanted ‘seasoned’ teams
• Everyone said “hire ahead of growth"
• My ego needed validation

I wanted so badly to “look like a real company.”

The real cost:

• 18 months of runway burned
• Aggregate $2M+ in salaries wasted
• Countless nights sleepless
• Almost killed the company

Here’s what founders don’t talk about: Every ‘strategic hire’ was really about my insecurity.

My ego was prioritizing “must have roles” over logic. These “key players” were me running from false urgency.

The hard lesson: Early stage hiring isn’t about looking legitimate. It’s about survival.

Only hire when:

• You’re drowning in proven work
• The role drives direct revenue
• You’ve done the job yourself
• You know exactly what’s working

Everything else? That’s your anxiety talking. And it costs millions to learn this lesson.

Don’t be young Alex. Build lean. Stay scrappy. Ignore the pressure.

What ‘strategic hire’ do you regret most?

Hit reply and let me know.

Until next time,

Alex Turnbull

Founder and CEO

Groove and Helply

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