Ok, not ALL hiring is lazy but most of it can and should be delayed for as long as possible in early-stage companies.
People are a headache for startups. More people means more meetings, more complexity, more diversions in a time where companies cannot afford any of that.
MOST importantly is that, with more people too early in a company’s life, things that should get automated simply don’t. They get done by people and then those things that should be automated become a human-led process and part of the DNA of the company. Then that thing becomes a responsibility and then it becomes too unwieldy for one person and a team is formed around it.
Early in the life of a startup every single person on payroll should be bouncing between 90-100% utilization. The difference between 90% and 100% is automation. Only when the company has automated all that it can should it hire for the next phase.
One of my early co-founders said it succinctly: “Wouldn’t it be great if we could run this company with just the founders?” That should be the goal for as long as possible.