Thread by @dunkhippo33

Startups are chaotic. But, the goal is to take that chaos and turn them into repeatable processes.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks I see founders do is they do too much "random sh*t" for too long instead of turning them into processes.

More here >>

1) A big reason for this is it takes time to create processes, so it feels easier to do "random sh*t".

But, it's better to carve out some time to create processes for long-run gain.

Here are common pitfalls where ppl do "random sh*t" for way too long.

2) Getting intros for fundraising en masse. The founders who are best at this have a curated list. They do their research on ppl. They outreach in a methodical way and everything is planned.

Here are tips on how to do this well:

https://twitter.com/dunkhippo33/status/1387175910453907460?s=20

3) The flip side to this is randomly asking friends and existing investors if they know a couple of investors who would be good and ad hoc meeting those ppl.

That doesn't set you up for success. Even if you get investors interested, you then have zero leverage on your fundraise

4) Hiring. In the beginning, doing random sh*t to hire is ok. Afterall, you only need a couple of hires here and there.

But after a while -- even still at seed stage -- you're going to be hiring a bunch of ppl. Finding a friend here and there isn't going to work at scale.

5) But a lot of founders stay in this zone for too long -- asking a friend here and there if they happen to have engineer friends.

EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR ENGINEERS! This isn't going to work at scale.

6) Hiring at scale is a lot like marketing at scale. The only difference is instead of asking ppl to pay you money (customers), you're asking ppl to pay you in time (new hires).

7) Like with marketing, for hiring you need to:
-identify your customer persona
-have collateral & a value prop that resonates w said person
-test and identify promising acquisition channels
-delegate help and manage (e.g. agencies)

You need to run a process.

8) Onboarding! This is the next part of the funnel after you make hires. A lot of ppl just ad hoc bring ppl onto their team. And that's ok for a couple of ppl.

9) But after a while, you need:
-docs to get ppl up to speed on your mission/culture/values
-work processes/how to do things in the org
-streamline paperwork

(@AbstractOpsCo can also help!)

10) Ad hoc telling new hires the same thing over & over 1:1 isn't scalable. It's a waste of time even though it feels easier

11) Onboarding applies in all parts of the org -- every team should be documenting playbooks all the time.

It's a lot of work. Here are a couple of ways to reduce that friction.

12) Start small. It's daunting to think you will go from 0 to a large playbook overnight.

The next time you want to do something 1:1 with a new hire / potential hire, first think about how to best document it.

13) Over time, you can accumulate a bunch of links on a wiki or notion or google docs that refer to each specific task.

Documenting can be written. But sometimes it's easier to record videos when you have mtgs with ppl to show them how to do stuff. Or to voice dictate things.

14) Over time, you can make the documentation more clear as confusion comes up and easier to consume / transcribe it.

But just getting it down is the first step.

15) Even better is if you can get the 1st draft done & ask others to help you make it better. Teammates or even outside the org.

For example, if you're fundraising, get your draft list done. Then enlist friends and current investors to help you edit. But start w/ something.

16) Or if it's an internal doc, record yourself explaining something to a new hire. Then ask the new hire to use your recording to do a task. And then have the new hire document it in a more clear way again.

17) A new hire, in theory, should have no projects in the very beginning so this is a great way to both get onboarded and started.

18) Documentation and processes are super impt -- don't go for too long without documenting everything -- even at the expense of it being half-baked, and this should be the task of MANY ppl are your company. It will save everyone time in the long run.