40
JUMPSTART
Experienced mid-tier employees
can be among the hardest to bring
on board; not only because of cost
but also because of their reasonable
concerns about job security in a firm
that hasn’t established itself in the
industry yet. That said, as a bootstrapped organization, the chances are
you won’t need any mid-tier workers
in the near future. And by the time
you do, you should have no difficulty
affording them.
Executive/upper management. At this
level there are even fewer options. You
might be able to persuade someone
to work for you for equity and/or use
deferred or minimal payment. Prior to
going this route it’s wise to review your
current skill set and determine where
you are in the life cycle of both the
company and the product in order to
decide whether you really need a team
member of this caliber. For example if
you still have months of work ahead
in developing the product, bringing
JUMPSTART
in a VP of Sales at this stage is liable
to be an unnecessary expense. If you
decide to move forward, don’t skip
the necessary due diligence as this
can have a significant impact on your
growing organization moving forward.
OTHER OPTIONS
Consider setting up hourly or projectbased engagements with professionals.
This way you’ll be able to manage costs
and be sure of getting a job done well
by a professional who will require little
or no supervision. The same approach
can work with accounting, lead-gen,
legal or similar tasks. For design and
copywriting work too, crowdsourcing
is a great idea. It can also provide a
marvelous opportunity to evaluate
prospective employees prior to bringing
them on board if that option exists.
Apart from saving on the payroll, you
won’t have to invest in a new computer
or find additional office space.
Friends, relatives, and professional
networks can come in very handy as
well. They can allo