Episode Details
October 29, 2025
31 minutes
The Milestone Myth: Debunking the celebration of a first hire as a success and reframing it as the company's most critical strategic risk.
Hiring Friends & Family: The hidden costs and necessary maturity required when blending personal relationships with professional responsibilities.
The Resume vs. Reality: Why a perfect interview can hide a poor fit for the chaotic, unstructured environment of a growing business.
Firing Fast & Fair: The cultural and financial imperative of letting underperformers go quickly, even when they're friends or early loyalists.
The 90-Day Culture Fit: Implementing a structured evaluation framework to move beyond gut feelings and make objective people-decisions.
Featured Quotes
"Hiring someone because you’re busy is a reason to panic, not a recruitment strategy."
Jeremy Axel
"A bad hire is a debt you pay every single day - in lost momentum, team morale, and management time"
Doug Cox
Episode Transcript And Overview
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Timeline Notes
The Gamble of the First Hire Discussing the misconception of the first hire as a milestone, emphasizing it's actually a significant gamble for entrepreneurs.
Introduction
The Excitement and Fallacy of the First Hire Exploring the emotional high and unrealistic expectations entrepreneurs have when making their first hire.
Delegation and Lack of Structure Challenges of delegating responsibilities without clear structure or expectations for the new hire.
Personal Experiences with First Hires Hosts share their own stories about hiring too early and the lack of preparation and clarity.
The Importance of Setting Expectations Discussing how crucial it is to set clear expectations and follow through with accountability for new hires.
Risks and Costs of Hiring Too Early Examining the dangers of premature hiring, including ego, onboarding costs, and lack of readiness.
Delegation, Trust, and Maturity The need for maturity, trust, and proper delegation as the business grows beyond startup mode.
Goal Setting and Alignment Importance of having clear short- and long-term goals and ensuring new hires align with them.
Firing Fast and Avoiding Dead Weight Learning to let go of underperforming employees quickly to maintain a healthy company culture.
Loyalty, Friendship, and Business Boundaries Navigating the complexities of hiring friends, maintaining boundaries, and separating business from personal relationships.
Hiring Friends and Family: Pitfalls and Growth Reflecting on the challenges and necessary maturity when hiring friends or family members.
The Resume vs. Reality Warning about the gap between a candidate’s resume/interview and their actual performance in a startup environment.
Dealing with Bad Hires and Firing Sharing experiences with bad hires, the importance of reviews, and the difficulty of firing employees.
Growth Stages and Team Evolution Discussing business growth milestones and the need for team members to evolve and level up with the company.
Evaluating Fit and Employee Aspirations Encouraging honest conversations about whether the company is the right vehicle for employees’ personal goals.
Letting Go and Maintaining Culture Recognizing when team members are no longer growing with the company and the importance of maintaining a strong culture.
Listening to the Team and Making Changes The value of feedback from employees and making necessary changes to support collective growth.
Final Thoughts and Practical Hiring Tips Concluding advice: treat the first hire as a gamble, be strategic, check references, and consider trial periods.
Notable Guests
Bill Fairman
Fund Manager, Private Lender
Bill Fairman
Fund Manager, Private Lender
A best-selling author, national speaker, and serial entrepreneur with 30+ years of experience in mortgage banking.
Over the years, Bill has worked closely with hundreds of high-net-worth individuals, helping them strategically grow wealth as a Fund Manager for more than 13 years.
He’s also a trusted voice in the industry, serving on the Government Relations Committee of the American Association of Private Lenders.
Nick Kiridzic
Founder and CEO
Nick Kiridzic
Founder and CEO
I'm the founder of StaffHero, where we help growing businesses scale without the chaos connecting them with skilled remote assistants and automation systems that save time and cut costs.Before this, I spent over ten years in healthcare and business development, constantly spotting the same problem: amazing teams burning out under the weight of busywork. That’s what pushed me to build StaffHero.
Now, I focus on helping business owners get their time back and build systems that let them grow with freedom and focus.
Paul Glover
The No B.S. Executive Coach
Paul Glover
The No B.S. Executive Coach
Paul Glover is No B.S. Executive Coach, whose mission is to Challenge the Best to Become Better.
He is also:
• An Ex- White-Collar Felon.
• A “Recovering” Federal Trial Lawyer.
• A Subject Mater Expert on failing and recovery.
• Who is a TEDx speaker, Vintage Speaker, Forbes contributor, and an author whose book, WorkQuake™, is endorsed by Marshall Goldsmith, a Top 10 Business Thinker.
• An Executive Coach With 30 years of experience who advises and coaches executives in organizations with up to $1 billion in annual revenue.
• A Starbucks addict, and
• A Chicago Bears fanatic.
Adi Klevit
Founder | CEO
Adi Klevit
Founder | CEO
Adi Klevit is the Founder of Business Success Consulting Group and the host of the Systems Simplified podcast. With nearly three decades of experience as an industrial engineer and process consultant, she has helped hundreds of growth-focused companies systematize their operations to scale successfully.
Known as “The Process Guru,” Adi specializes in designing and implementing turnkey systems that reduce dependence on the owner, empower teams, and increase profitability. Her clients range from fast-growing trades businesses to multi-location professional service firms, and she is a trusted advisor to CEOs across the U.S.
Joe Dillon
Divorce Mediator & Founder
Joe Dillon
Divorce Mediator & Founder
Joe is a pioneer in divorce mediation who has been helping couples navigate the end of their marriages with dignity and financial wisdom for over 17 years. As co-founder of Equitable Mediation Services, Joe combines his MBA in Finance with specialized training from Harvard, MIT, and Northwestern University to guide couples toward agreements that protect both their emotional wellbeing and financial futures.
Joe pioneered virtual divorce mediation in 2011, nearly a decade before others adopted online practices during the pandemic. His results speak for themselves: Equitable Mediation Services maintains a 98% case resolution rate, significantly higher than the industry average of 70%.
