Your First Hire Is You

Most first-time founders perform due diligence on everything except the one factor that shapes the entire venture: themselves.

They research markets.
They compare competitors.
They evaluate engineers, co-founders, advisors.
They lean on academic background, experience, and networks.

Useful — but incomplete.

Few pause to ask the one question that protects the company more than any spreadsheet:

Would I hire myself to captain this all-consuming role that will take every ounce of clarity, discipline, and steadiness I have?
 And why?

Not ego. Not imposter talk.
A sober self-audit as captain of the ship.

Early teams gather around the product.
Founders sell the vision.
People buy the potential.
Yet few — least of all the founder — examine the leadership behind it.

That’s where misalignment begins —
co-founders, early hires, culture.

Self-aware founders know what they bring into the room:
values they actually live,
how they work with themselves before they work with others,
standards they enforce,
how they operate under pressure,
how they communicate,
and how they show up in front of others.

Because you can’t build the right crew if you haven’t met your own leadership yet.

Your first hire is you.

Have you made time for self-audit?

Make sure that version of you is clear, aligned,
 and capable of captaining the venture you’re trying to build.

•••••••••

This reflection comes from my Founder Precision™ work — strengthening the inner compass.

© My-Tien Vo – December 9, 2025