The hire you keep delaying could be the one that saves you

A mate (and podcast guest!) of mine once described running his rapidly scaling business as feeling like he was "strapped to the front of a freight train - an unstoppable force that you just can't jump off." That image has stuck with me because it captures something most founders tend to miss: you're going to convince yourself it's too early to make the hire that could actually save you. You'll tell yourself you need more cash flow first.

More customers.

More certainty.

AND… while you're white-knuckling it alone, your competitors are building the teams that will leave you behind.

Matt Chapman, founder of Chapman Consulting Group, could have kept riding solo. His business was crushing it - EBIT margins hitting 40-50% (the kind of numbers that make private equity wet dreams). But instead of waiting for the "perfect moment," he made the gutsy call to bring in a world-class CEO. That decision didn't just stabilise his freight train, it turned it into a rocket ship.

The founders who win aren't the ones who wait. They're the ones who hire their way around the chaos.

Stop making excuses. Start making strategic hires:

• Timing is everything. Your growth surge is screaming for new expertise. The train is already moving - don't wait until it derails.
• High impact roles. Prioritise strategic hires like CFOs, CROs and automation heads who can stabilise and accelerate growth.
• Lean doesn't mean mean. A strategically lean team with impactful roles can outperform large, cumbersome structures. Check out HBR on lean team effectiveness.

The question that should keep you up at night: Who's the one person who could 10x your ability to handle what's coming?

Stop waiting for permission.

Your freight train won't slow down for your comfort zone.

Here's to getting the right people in the right seats.

Cheers,
Josh