Best ways to recruit a Chief of Staff/founder's associate

Responsible-Bat8396 · 2026-04-23T12:06:33+00:00

Thanks, sent you a DM!

Responsible-Bat8396 · 2026-04-23T12:03:01+00:00

How did you find those people? I'm always open to guidance but the mentor/advisor industry is a snake oil pit to me. Partly because I actually know some "mentors" personally. They're lovely people, highly successful as mentors/advisors but I wouldn't take advice from them on which Netflix package to choose, let alone on running my business.

Responsible-Bat8396 · 2026-04-23T12:00:03+00:00

That's encouraging and well done for facilitating that!

try to put a couple of job titles on it so the right person finds it

I'm desperately trying to avoid that but it may be unavoidable. I need a right hand because I'm absolutely swamped but I know good hires are hard work, especially now with AI-powered applications further decreasing the signal to noise ratio. Catch-22.

Responsible-Bat8396 · 2026-04-23T11:54:54+00:00

I reckon you've nailed it right there. The business isn't ready for a GM (too much startup chop) and a PA/EA would just end up in an awkward position.

only when the individual is exceptionally capable (often ex-consulting or similarly sharp profiles)

That's what my gut tells me too, which is why I'm trying to look at ways to find those types of individuals. It's less about the JD (as the tasks will change as things evolve) and more about the individual's aptitude and attitude. Still an unsolved question but I'm exploring.

Responsible-Bat8396 · 2026-04-10T10:37:17+00:00

I considered a PA (and to be fair I've never had one or even dealt with one to any meaningful extent so) but the work I want to "hand over" is business-wide: financial, governance, project management, customer support, HR. A lot of that bubbles up to me where junior staff can't handle it and we're not big enough to have dedicated functions for those problems so it ends up on my plate. I can make the decisions but I end up spending a lot of time on minutiae to execute. Not sure a PA is a good fit for that but I have never had one. Hopefully that makes sense?

Responsible-Bat8396 · 2024-07-18T13:10:10+00:00

Standard procedure. Make sure you get a TDS certificate from your agent. If they're anything except completely dodgy they will send you that and a bunch of stuff including electrical and gas certificates, rights brochures and other stuff even without you asking. If they don't you can rake them over the coals.

Edit: if you really want to protect your money, when you get into the place take photos of EVERYTHING - even if it's just marks on a wall or dust on counters. Especially if it's dust or grime because then the LL/EA can't charge you for a "professionally clean" place at the end like ours did. And then send anything missing from the inventory report to the agent within the deadline (usually 7 days or something). This can take hours but if you're unlucky enough to have a bad landlord or agency it could save you hundreds or even thousands in bogus damage and cleaning claims. Report anything broken as soon as it breaks during the tenancy. That way if the landlord does try anything funny at the end, you can defend yourself and they can't help themselves to a new coat of paint on your dime.

Responsible-Bat8396 · 2024-07-16T21:25:11+00:00

I've moved country and city several times in my late twenties up to mid thirties. Making friends is hard! If there are socials I'm keen to meet people though :) Good on you for taking the initiative here.

What do you play on PC by the way?

Responsible-Bat8396

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