# Startup Hiring Plan: [Company name], [Period]

> A plan for an early-stage company's first hires: which roles, in
> what order and why, when each search starts, what each role costs,
> how the plan ties to the financial projection, and the legal checks
> that apply when people join. Structure follows common startup
> practice. Replace every `[bracketed]` value and every row marked
> *Example*. Figures are fictional. Employment rules differ by country
> and change often: this is a planning format, not legal, tax or
> employment advice; check the current official guidance and a
> qualified professional in each country where you hire.

<!-- Guidance: How to use this template
- Start from the milestones the company must hit (product, revenue,
  next round), then ask which capability is missing for each. Roles
  come from gaps, not from an org chart copied from a larger company.
- Keep every role, start month and salary identical to the headcount
  build in `startup/financial-projections`. Change both together.
- Plan search start dates backwards from the target start: a senior
  engineer often takes three to four months from opening the role to
  the first day, including notice periods.
- The example company Verrowind (fictional) sells stock-forecasting
  software to independent bicycle shops and raised a 2,000,000 USD seed
  round in January 2027.
-->

## Document control

<!-- Guidance: The plan is a budget commitment. Record who approved it and when the board last saw it. -->

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Document ID | [HIRE-PLAN-NNN] |
| Version | [0.1] |
| Status | [Draft / Approved / Superseded] |
| Owner | [@ceo] |
| Approvers / reviewers | [@co-founder], [@board] |
| Last updated | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Classification | Confidential, founders and board |
| Plan period | [YYYY-MM to YYYY-MM] |
| Linked projection | `startup/financial-projections`, version [x.y] |

### Revision history

| Version | Date | Author | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | YYYY-MM-DD | [@ceo] | *Example:* First plan for seed round |
| 1.0 | YYYY-MM-DD | [@ceo] | *Example:* Approved by the board with the 2027 budget |

## 1. Milestones the hires must deliver

<!-- Guidance: List three to five milestones with dates. Every role in section 3 should point to at least one. A hire that serves no milestone is a candidate to defer. -->

| Milestone ID | Milestone | Target date | Capability gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| MS-01 *(Example)* | Forecasting accuracy release for multi-location shops | 2027-09 | Backend capacity, product design |
| MS-02 *(Example)* | 140 paying shops, churn below 2% a month | 2027-12 | Onboarding and support capacity |
| MS-03 *(Example)* | Repeatable outbound sales, 18 new shops a month | 2028-06 | Founder-independent sales |
| MS-04 *(Example)* | About 1.0 million USD ARR run rate, Series A ready | 2028-12 | Marketing, second customer success role |

## 2. Current team and gaps

<!-- Guidance: Be honest about what the founders do today and should stop doing. The first hires usually take work off the founders that blocks growth. -->

| Person or role | Covers today | Should hand over | Gap closed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEO co-founder *(Example)* | Sales, support, finance, hiring | First-line support, onboarding | Customer success manager (H-04) |
| CTO co-founder *(Example)* | All engineering and design | Interface design, part of backend | Product designer (H-02), engineers (H-01, H-03) |
| [Contractor or advisor] | [Scope] | [Scope] | [Role] |

## 3. Role plan

<!-- Guidance: One row per hire. Give a reason tied to a milestone, the employment type and the country, because cost and legal checks depend on both. Salaries come from a dated benchmark, not memory. -->

| Hire ID | Role | Level | Milestone | Country and type | Search starts | Target start | Base salary, 2027 rate (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-01 *(Example)* | Senior software engineer | Senior | MS-01 | [Country], employee | 2026-11 | 2027-02 (M2) | 130,000 |
| H-02 *(Example)* | Product designer | Mid | MS-01 | [Country], employee | 2027-01 | 2027-04 (M4) | 105,000 |
| H-03 *(Example)* | Software engineer | Mid | MS-01 | [Country], employee | 2027-03 | 2027-06 (M6) | 120,000 |
| H-04 *(Example)* | Customer success manager | Mid | MS-02 | [Country], employee | 2027-06 | 2027-09 (M9) | 70,000 |
| H-05 *(Example)* | Account executive | Mid | MS-03 | [Country], employee | 2027-09 | 2027-12 (M12) | 85,000 |
| H-06 *(Example)* | Software engineer | Mid | MS-03 | [Country], employee | 2027-12 | 2028-03 (M15) | 120,000 |
| H-07 *(Example)* | Marketing lead | Senior | MS-04 | [Country], employee | 2028-02 | 2028-06 (M18) | 110,000 |
| H-08 *(Example)* | Customer success manager | Mid | MS-04 | [Country], employee | 2028-09 | 2028-12 (M24) | 70,000 |
| H-09 *(Example)* | Account executive | Mid | MS-04 | [Country], employee | 2028-12 | 2029-03 (M27) | 85,000 |

Salary benchmark used: [source and date]. Salaries rise 3% each
January from 2028, so a role starting in 2028 is paid the 2027 rate
x 1.03.

```mermaid
gantt
    title Example hiring sequence, search to start
    dateFormat YYYY-MM
    axisFormat %Y-%m
    section Engineering
    H-01 Senior engineer search :2026-11, 2027-02
    H-03 Engineer search :2027-03, 2027-06
    H-06 Engineer search :2027-12, 2028-03
    section Product and growth
    H-02 Product designer search :2027-01, 2027-04
    H-07 Marketing lead search :2028-02, 2028-06
    section Customers and sales
    H-04 Customer success search :2027-06, 2027-09
    H-05 Account executive search :2027-09, 2027-12
    H-08 Customer success search :2028-09, 2028-12
    H-09 Account executive search :2028-12, 2029-03
```

## 4. Sequencing rationale

<!-- Guidance: Explain the order, and what would make you change it. Investors ask "why this hire before that one". -->

- Engineering first (H-01, H-03): MS-01 is the product promise in the
  seed pitch, and the CTO cannot deliver it alone.
- Customer success before sales (H-04 before H-05): adding customers
  faster than they can be onboarded raises churn, the assumption the
  projection is most sensitive to after new customers.
- Marketing after two quarters of founder-led and account executive
  selling (H-07 at M18), once the message that converts is known.
- Change triggers: if closing customers at M18 are below 190, defer
  H-08 and H-09 (trigger TRG-01 in `startup/financial-projections`).

## 5. Budget

<!-- Guidance: Show fully loaded cost (salary plus employer on-costs) per year and the recruiting cost. Check that the totals equal the people cost line in the projection. On-cost rates vary by country; use a payroll provider quote. -->

Fully loaded cost = salary x 1.20 (employer on-costs, *Example*
assumption A-07), pro-rated from the start month.

| Hire ID | Fully loaded annual cost, 2027 rate | 2027 cost | 2028 cost | 2029 cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founders (2) *(Example)* | 216,000 | 216,000 | 222,480 | 229,154 |
| H-01 *(Example)* | 156,000 | 143,000 | 160,680 | 165,500 |
| H-02 *(Example)* | 126,000 | 94,500 | 129,780 | 133,673 |
| H-03 *(Example)* | 144,000 | 84,000 | 148,320 | 152,770 |
| H-04 *(Example)* | 84,000 | 28,000 | 86,520 | 89,116 |
| H-05 *(Example)* | 102,000 | 8,500 | 105,060 | 108,212 |
| H-06 *(Example)* | 144,000 | 0 | 123,600 | 152,770 |
| H-07 *(Example)* | 132,000 | 0 | 79,310 | 140,039 |
| H-08 *(Example)* | 84,000 | 0 | 7,210 | 89,116 |
| H-09 *(Example)* | 102,000 | 0 | 0 | 90,176 |
| **Total** | | **574,000** | **1,062,960** | **1,350,526** |

Totals equal the people cost line in the projection (check CHK-05
there). Recruiting costs (job boards, assessment tools) are budgeted
inside the 6,000 USD a month other operating costs; if you plan to use
a recruiting agency, add its fee as a separate line. Equipment is
2,000 USD per hire, capitalised.

Equity: record the option pool and the proposed grant range per role
in [cap table link]; see `mba/mba-venture-finance-cap-table-card` for
the dilution arithmetic.

## 6. Recruiting process per role

<!-- Guidance: Agree the steps and the decision owner before the first role opens. Structured interviews with written criteria are fairer and easier to defend than unstructured chats. -->

| Step | What happens | Owner | Target time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Role scorecard: outcomes for the first 6 and 12 months, must-have skills | Hiring manager | Week 1 |
| 2 | Job advert with pay range (required in some places, see section 7) | Hiring manager | Week 1 |
| 3 | Sourcing: network, referrals, job boards | Founders | Weeks 1 to 4 |
| 4 | Screen against the scorecard | Hiring manager | Weeks 2 to 6 |
| 5 | Structured interviews and a paid or short work sample | Panel | Weeks 4 to 8 |
| 6 | References, offer, right-to-work check | CEO | Weeks 8 to 10 |
| 7 | Notice period and onboarding plan | Hiring manager | Weeks 10 to 14 |

Use `hr/offer-letter` for the offer and `hr/new-hire-onboarding-plan`
for the first 90 days.

## 7. Legal and compliance checks by country

<!-- Guidance: Name each country where you hire and record the checks with a link to the official page and the date you checked. The rows below are dated examples for the US, UK and EU only, not a complete list. -->

| Jurisdiction | Check | Rule as checked 2026-10-30 | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Employment eligibility (Form I-9) | The employee completes Section 1 no later than the first day of work for pay, and the employer completes Section 2 within three business days of the start date; current form edition 01/20/25 | USCIS Handbook for Employers M-274: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/handbook-for-employers-m-274 |
| UK | Right to work | Check before the person starts work; employers who skip a correct check may face a civil penalty of up to 60,000 GBP per illegal worker | https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work and https://www.gov.uk/penalties-for-employing-illegal-workers |
| EU | Pay transparency | Directive (EU) 2023/970 gives applicants a right to pay information before employment and bans asking about pay history; transposition deadline 7 June 2026; obligations reach employers through each Member State's transposing law, so check its current status and wording in every country where you hire | European Commission equal pay page: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/equal-pay/eu-action-equal-pay_en |
| [Country] | [Contractor or employee status] | [Ask a local adviser whether the working arrangement makes the person an employee] | [Official source] |

Questions to answer for each hire: Is the person an employee or a
contractor under local law? Does the company have a legal entity or an
employer of record in that country? Which written terms must be given
on or before the first day? Does the offer include equity, and what tax
election or filing applies?

## 8. Risks

<!-- Guidance: List what could break the plan and the response. -->

| Risk ID | Risk | Effect | Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR-R-01 *(Example)* | Senior engineer search exceeds 4 months | MS-01 slips | Start search before the round closes, use a contractor bridge |
| HR-R-02 *(Example)* | Early account executive misses quota | MS-03 slips, CAC rises | Founder keeps a share of selling until two quarters of data |
| HR-R-03 *(Example)* | Revenue below plan | Cash runway shortens | Defer H-08 and H-09 under trigger TRG-01 |

## 9. References and related templates

<!-- Guidance: Link the projection, cap table and the HR templates used for offers and onboarding. -->

- `startup/financial-projections` (headcount build and triggers),
  `startup/founders-agreement-outline`, `startup/fundraising-tracker`.
- `hr/offer-letter`, `hr/new-hire-onboarding-plan`,
  `hr/employee-handbook`.
- USCIS, Handbook for Employers M-274 (page updated July 2026, checked
  2026-10-30).
- GOV.UK, "Check a job applicant's right to work" and "Penalties for
  employing illegal workers" (checked 2026-10-30).
- Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency:
  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/970/oj

## Standard and licence note

Based on common startup hiring practice, with dated US, UK and EU
compliance examples taken from the official pages listed. All wording,
the example company and its figures are original and fictional.
Employment law changes often: check the current official guidance in
every country where you hire. This is a planning format, not legal,
tax or employment advice. Template licence: MIT.