M&A negotiations feel really fun. This is one of the biggest killers of companies, is they entertain acquisition conversations.
Losing focus is another way that founders get off track.
The second part of how to hire: try not to.
It really is true that you become an average of the people you spend the most time with.
Be suspicious of any work that is not building product or getting customers. It's easy to get sucked into an infrastructure rewrite death spiral.
A board member of mine used to say sales fix everything in a startup, and that is really true.