26th
I’ve recently noticed that many startups hire junior programmers and designers immediately after they receive funding, and then hire up the ladder, filling the most senior positions last. When you’re building a new team inside a company with lots of money, this is almost always a bad idea. By the time a senior employee is hired, his team has already been built entirely without his input. This is bad for multiple reasons, but the most important one is that experts (senior employees) have a weird sixth sense for instantly detecting good talent that non-experts lack.
Another great article by Dustin Curtis.
Building a company cannot be done starting from the roof, but from its fondations. Hiring the seniors first is the only way to go. Doing it otherwise will only lead to lost of money, time, knowledge and spirit.
