Really dig into projects people have worked on and call references; that is another thing that first time founders like to skip.

Before 20 or 25 employees, most companies are structured with everyone reporting to the founder. It's totally flat.

As you grow, it feels hopelessly corporate but it really is worth putting in place these compensation bands.

Before product/market fit, your only job that matters is to build a great product.

Stay focused and don't try to do too many things at once. Care about execution quality.

Most great companies in tech have been built by personal referrals for the first...at least 100 employees and often many more.

Growth solves (nearly) all problems