“We’re going to fly the plane and create the plane as we fly it.”
Every founder knows this experience all too well, and it’s a practice that lasts far beyond the first hire. The formula is pretty much the same for all; the business is working, clients are coming, and the workload has outgrown the capabilities of the founder. Suddenly, the question that felt theoretical becomes very real: who is the first person I bring into this, and how do I do it without breaking what I’ve built?
Luis Alvarado has guided more founders through that moment than he can count. As the founder of Luis Alvarado Consulting, a people-centered HR and operations practice, he knows that what happens at that inflection point – the thinking, the preparation, the honesty – determines more about a company’s future than most founders realize.
The three buckets
Before Luis talks about hiring, he talks about clarity. Specifically, the kind of clarity that comes from understanding exactly where your time is going and why.
He thinks about work in three buckets. The first is about what you love: the work that energizes you, that you would do even if nobody was watching. The second is what you can do but don’t prefer: competent but costly in terms of energy and focus. The third is what keeps the lights on: necessary, non-negotiable, but not where your genius lives.
“Find people who do something that you don’t do and start to have those conversations.”
That framework is not just a productivity tool. It is a hiring philosophy. The first person you bring in should not be a replica of you. They should be someone who thrives in the buckets that drain you, who brings different kinds of thinking, a different set of strengths, and ideally a different perspective on how problems get solved. This approach can work for both hiring and strategic partnerships. Both will help you as a founder, manage your growing business and allow you to scale.
Before you hire anyone
Luis has a series of questions he asks every founder who is approaching their first hire. They are not questions about job descriptions or compensation bands. There are questions about intention.
“What were you thinking when you first came up with this idea? What was your intention? Where are you from that starting point now? How far have you gotten from that intention?”
The gap between where a founder started and where they are is, in his experience, one of the most revealing data points in any HR conversation. It tells you whether the culture has drifted, whether the values have held, and whether the person you are about to bring in will be walking into something coherent or something that has quietly become something else.
The second question is harder.
“What are the most challenging things that you have gone through that you think an employee will go through, and what is the honest conversation that you’re ready to have?”
Because the first hire deserves the truth. Because anyone willing to work for a start-up is likely accepting lower compensation, equity instead of salary, six hats instead of one, tough days guaranteed in exchange for the opportunity to be part of something. The founders Luis most enjoys working with are the ones who can say all of that out loud before the offer letter is signed.
“This sets the person up for success and at least gets them into a mentality of we can have shared win here. It’s not going to be easy, and there’s going to be tough days.”
The hamster wheel test
One of the most useful tools Luis brings to any people conversation is deceptively simple. He calls it the hamster wheel test.
“Can the hamster wheel continue to turn without you, or do you need to be turning it?”
It is a question about systems. About whether the business runs on the founder’s heroics or on processes that exist independently of any one person. The answer, for most early-stage founders, is uncomfortable. Everything depends on them. Which means that real, sustainable growth is impossible until that changes.
This is where Luis’ operational work becomes most tangible. Not in the policy documents or the compliance frameworks, but in the quiet, unglamorous work of building systems that protect people. Onboarding processes that set new hires up for success. Communication norms that reduce spin and build trust. Structures that allow the founder to let go, and not because they have to, but because the business is ready.
“Lead with intentionality. Have hard conversations early. Build trust through consistency.”
People-centered operations in practice
The handbook is a good example. Most founders treat it as a legal document, a way to hold employees accountable, a paper trail for difficult conversations. Luis sees it differently.
“A handbook should be set up for an employee to be successful at an organization and to use as a resource. It should not be used as a way to hold employees accountable.”
That reframe is a small thing that signals everything about the kind of company you are building. It tells the person who just joined whether they are trusted or managed, supported or monitored, seen as a human or a liability.
Great businesses, Luis believes, are not built on great strategies. They are built on great people who feel safe enough to do their best work, supported enough to grow, and trusted enough to tell the truth when something isn’t working.
“Create systems, not heroics. Reflect often. Connect and stay connected to the purpose.”
This is people-centered operations. Not a department. Not a function. A way of building that puts the human at the center of every decision, from the first hire to the hundredth.
If you are approaching your first hire, navigating rapid growth, or simply trying to build a company that gets the people side right from the beginning, Luis Alvarado Consulting is the partner you want in your corner. Reach out to Luis via email at Luis@col-hrconsulting.com and start the conversation.
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