Portfolio Allocation Framework

Scaling Yourself: The LEGO Principle

Core Principle: If you want to grow as fast as your company, give away your job every 3-6 months.

The LEGO Analogy

You're Building Alone

text

┌─────────────────┐
│  ████████████   │ Too many LEGOs!
│  ████████████   │ Can't build it all
│  ████████████   │ You're the bottleneck
└─────────────────┘

Sign it's time to hire: You're the critical path for everything

After You Hire

text

┌─────────────────┐
│ Your LEGOs →    │
│         New hire│
│                 │
│ New tower ← You │
└─────────────────┘

The secret: Give away your LEGOs, find bigger ones

When to Hire: Bottleneck Detection

✅ Hire When You See These Signs

[ ] You're the blocker: Team waiting on you for decisions/reviews
[ ] Reactive mode: No time for strategic work
[ ] Opportunity cost: Saying "no" to high-impact projects
[ ] Quality suffering: Cutting corners due to time pressure
[ ] Burnout risk: Working nights/weekends consistently

❌ Don't Hire Yet If

[ ] You can automate it: Build the tool instead
[ ] It's temporary: Project-based spike in work
[ ] You haven't documented it: Can't hand off what isn't written
[ ] No budget/revenue: Can't support the salary
[ ] Role unclear: Don't know what they'd do day 1

The Handoff Framework

1. Document Everything (Week 1-2)

Before hiring, make the role hireable:

[ ] Runbooks: Step-by-step procedures
[ ] Decision trees: How to handle edge cases
[ ] Access/permissions: What they'll need
[ ] Success metrics: How to measure their impact
[ ] Why it matters: Context for the work

Platform parallel: Your infrastructure-as-code before scaling

2. Contract-to-Hire (Week 1-4)

Staging environment for humans:

[ ] Trial project: 4-week paid contract
[ ] Real work: Not fake interview problems
[ ] Working relationship: Do you collaborate well?
[ ] Decision criteria: Clear hire/no-hire reasons
[ ] Exit plan: How to end respectfully if not a fit

Why it works: See them under real pressure before committing

3. Gradual Handoff (Week 1-12)

Don't drop everything at once:

Week 1-2: Shadow you, learn the ropes
Week 3-4: Paired work (you + them)
Week 5-8: They lead, you review
Week 9-12: They own it, you're consulted

Platform parallel: Blue-green deployment for human responsibilities

4. Find Bigger LEGOs (Ongoing)

What's your next level:

[ ] Strategic thinking: Quarterly planning vs. daily execution
[ ] Team building: Hire the next 3 people
[ ] Fundraising: Talk to investors
[ ] Partnerships: Business development
[ ] Product vision: Where are we going?

Hiring Evaluation Framework

Technical Bar (Table Stakes)

[ ] Can they do the work? Demonstrated skill
[ ] How do they learn? Adapt to new situations
[ ] Code quality: See their actual work
[ ] Communication: Can they explain complexity?

Cultural Fit (What Matters More)

[ ] Values alignment: Do they match your MVV?
[ ] Working style: Async vs. sync, deep work vs. meetings
[ ] Conflict resolution: How do they disagree?
[ ] Autonomy level: Need guidance vs. self-directed
[ ] Growth mindset: Fixed vs. learning orientation

Interview Test: "Explain This Complex Thing"

Best single question:

"Explain [complex topic in your domain] to me like I'm a new engineer."

What you're testing:

Clarity: Can they break down complexity?
Patience: Do they rush or teach well?
Depth: Do they actually understand it?
Empathy: Do they meet the learner where they are?

First 90 Days: New Hire Onboarding

Week 1-2: Context & Culture

[ ] Mission/Vision/Values: Why we exist
[ ] Product deep dive: What we build, who we serve
[ ] Codebase tour: Architecture, key systems
[ ] Meet the team: 1:1s with everyone
[ ] Quick win: Ship something small week 1

Week 3-4: Ramp-Up

[ ] Paired programming: Work together daily
[ ] On-call shadow: Learn systems under pressure
[ ] Customer calls: Hear pain directly
[ ] Retrospective: What's working, what's not?

Week 5-12: Ownership Transfer

[ ] Solo projects: They lead, you review
[ ] On-call rotation: They're in the rotation
[ ] Decision authority: Define what they can decide
[ ] Teaching others: Can they onboard the next hire?

90-Day Check-In

Ask:

1. "What's clearer now vs. day 1?"

2. "What's still confusing?"

3. "What would you change?"

4. "Do you want to stay?"

Red Flags During Trial Period

Performance Red Flags

[ ] Can't ship: Projects stall, no output
[ ] Quality issues: Bugs, tech debt, shortcuts
[ ] Not learning: Same mistakes repeatedly
[ ] Scope creep: Can't finish what they start

Culture Red Flags

[ ] Values misalignment: Actions contradict MVV
[ ] Poor communication: Team doesn't know what they're doing
[ ] Conflict avoidance: Won't speak up about problems
[ ] Ego over team: Credit-seeking, blame-shifting

What to Do

If 1-2 red flags: Coach them, give feedback, set clear expectations

If 3+ red flags: Part ways respectfully at end of trial

Key: Don't hope it gets better. It won't. Trust your gut.

Delegation Matrix

Use this to decide what to keep vs. hand off:

Example: Your Week

Keep:

Fundraising pitch to lead investor (high impact, only you)
Key customer escalation (high impact, relationship-based)

Delegate:

Code reviews (high impact, team can do)
Customer support (high impact, others can do)
Hiring screens (high impact, can train others)

Automate:

Deployment pipeline (low impact, repetitive)
Metrics dashboards (low impact, repetitive)
Reporting (low impact, repetitive)

Equity & Compensation

Early Hire Guidelines (Employee #1-10)

Cash: Below-market salary ($80K-$120K for senior roles)
Equity: 0.5%-2% depending on role and timing
Vesting: 4-year vest, 1-year cliff

Equity Calculation Framework

Factors:

1. Risk: Earlier = more risk = more equity

2. Impact: How much value will they create?

3. Market: What do they make elsewhere?

4. Replacement cost: How hard to replace?

Common Mistakes

Too little equity: They leave for more stable job
Too much equity: Cap table mess for future fundraising
No cliff: They quit at 6 months with equity
No docs: Verbal promises cause lawsuits

Use a startup lawyer. Worth every penny.

Firing Well (When It Doesn't Work)

When to Part Ways

[ ] Trial period ends: Red flags not resolved
[ ] Culture violation: Serious MVV misalignment
[ ] Performance: Consistent underperformance despite feedback
[ ] Company changes: Role no longer needed

How to Do It

1. Quick decision: Don't drag it out

2. In person: Video call minimum, in-person if possible

3. Clear reason: No surprises, feedback already given

4. Generous severance: 2-4 weeks minimum

5. References: Offer to be a reference (if appropriate)

6. Exit logistics: Return equipment, offboarding checklist

Key: Be kind, be firm, be fast. Don't negotiate the decision.

Resources

The Alliance by Reid Hoffman: Tours of duty framework
Who by Geoff Smart: Hiring methodology
Radical Candor by Kim Scott: Feedback framework
‘Give Away Your Legos’ and Other Commandments for Scaling Startups by Molly Graham

Download all 12 templates: sanscourier.ai/qconsf-2025

*From the QCon SF 2025 talk: "From Staff Platform Engineer to a16z Founder: What I Wish I'd Known" by Gonzalo (Glo) Maldonado*