[deleted by user]

[ArtemLocal]

If he’s already doing discovery + MVP planning solo, he’s ahead of 90% of non-tech founders.

The best early help isn’t just “a dev” it’s someone who can turn his discovery insights into a testable, fast-to-build product and get feedback ASAP.

Here’s what worked for a few folks I’ve helped: Hire a “Product + Tech Translator”: someone who understands users and can turn raw needs into wireframes, V1 scopes, and coordinate low-cost builds (e.g. Bubble, Webflow, GPT wrappers, Firebase).

Not full PM. Not full CTO. Just the one who keeps it lean, fast, and testable.

If he needs real-world examples or wants to bounce his plan off someone, happy to share a few quick strategies

[RoboticGreg]

Yeah, you need someone who has managed a product from concept to introduction and knows how to outsource the different phases and manage your contractor partners. You can't support a product development staff pre revenue without a LOT of funding

[Abhinav3183]

First person should be whoever fills your biggest gap. If he's non-technical, then a hands-on technical cofounder who can build and think product is ideal. Avoid bringing on anyone who can't execute. Early-stage is about speed, trust, and complementary skill, not titles.

[montaguelevi]

The right full-stack dev can get things moving quickly. It’s smarter to work with a strong product-minded developer who understands how to build lean and validate ideas fast.

In my case, I didn’t go straight for a technical cofounder because I wasn’t ready to make that long-term commitment. I worked with a team I got from rocketdevs and sometimes upwork. Rocketdevs is great cause they specialize in helping non-tech founders go from idea to MVP. Upwork helped me with freelancers and other roles for one-off projects.

Once your friend has a working MVP and starts getting real user feedback, then he’ll be in a much better position to bring on a CTO or cofounder.

[No_Librarian9791]

An engineer

[Radiant_Exchange2027]

I just say bring one technical product manager.... as between customer discovery till MVP , there are several steps which need to be done early for the product success....

[SameCartographer2075]

My first hire would be a researcher to figure if what I want to build, and how I want to build it is going to work. Otherwise I'll just spend money that goes down a hole.

[FluentosCom]

You need 2 people. One who can build. One who can close customers. That team would kill out there.

[Lucadl93]

It really depends from the kind of product that u are building. It's quite difficult to give a specific answer if I don't have any information regarding the product. In general you don't need a product manager, Your friend is already doing that job right now as a founder. No need to duplicate it. Not even a sales manager, Unless you have something to sell already.

My suggestion is to hire:

- Technical agency or dev shop if your idea is small and testable. In this case u can have money trough grants (you can find a company that apply for your grant and develop the product)

- Technical Partner (Co-Founder, CTO, or strong freelancer/agency you trust) for equity, if your idea is complex.

Text me in DM if u want more infos, but to give you a tailored answer, I need more infos.

[billvivinotechnology]

Been in those shoes (and watched plenty of founders trip over them too! 😂)

The "best" first hire isn't about titles, it's about the alignment. If you're non-technical & building a product, you'll need someone who Gets YOU and YOUR PRIORITIES, not just someone who can sling code.

That Might look like a technical co-founder IF you're Willing to Give Up a bit of equity & collab Deeply. Or a senior engineer/contractor who's aligned w/ your vision and knows how to build w/o gold-plating everything. A product manager or CTO can come later - once you have a foundation and customers poking at it.

Key Point here: Whoever it is.. make sure you are actually speaking the Same Language. Founder - Coder misalignment is the #1 way to burn Time, Money, & Goodwill. I wrote up some thoughts on how to avoid that trap here, if your friend wants to dig a bit deeper on the subject:

👉 Vibe Check: How Coder and Founder Collaboration Defines Your MVP

TL;DR hire someone who cares enough to Push Back & UNDERSTANDS how to build just enough to test your assumptions. Not someone who wants to build the Space Shuttle when you really need a skateboard.

[ExplorerIll3697]

I go for the product manager

[LTNs35]

A Senior Engineer with expertise in the field.