You can’t afford to be in charge of expansion indefinitely.
You’ll eventually have to hand off this responsibility to your expansion group.
When, how many, and who should we hire, though?
The growth team framework recommended by Y-combinator and other leading growth experts is as follows:
When is the best time to begin hiring?
Only after you’ve shown consistent retention rates. No customer loyalty equals no P/M fit equals no growth hacking yet
What makes up a typical first-year Growth Team?
1-2 Growth Data Scientists + 1-2 Growth Engineers + 1 Growth-focused PM
Third, what qualities should you seek out?
3.1.1 Optimal Development PM Candidate + Data-oriented, curious (required) + Previous expansion experience (required) + An existing PM with startup experience is a plus (nice-to-have)
3.2. The Perfect Candidate for the Growth Engineer Role Someone who is: + Proactive, curious, and willing to come up with their own hypotheses to test + Doesn’t cry over lost code + Is comfortable with doing things that don’t scale + Is open to new ideas and approaches Outstanding communicator
3.3 Qualified Data Scientists Should Also Have: Proficient Coding Skills Excellent Interpersonal Skills
Source: https://www.ycombinator.com/library/59-how-to-set-up-hire-and-scale-a-growth-strategy-and-team