How to hire your first engineers at an Indian startup

Your first five engineers set the ceiling on everything you build for years. Hire them like it.

Who to hire first

Generalists who have shipped something end to end and are comfortable with ambiguity — not the best specialist you can find. Look for people who've been early somewhere before, run a side project with real users, or contributed to open source. Titles matter less than evidence.

Where they are

Referrals from your network and your investors' networks fill most early roles. Beyond that: post a specific, honest JD on your own careers page and on boards where seekers actually go (here's how to write one), post on X and LinkedIn with a direct line to you, and go to the meetups in your city's startup hub.

Run a loop that respects time

Founder screen → a practical exercise that mirrors the real work (2–4 hours, paid if longer) → a technical conversation about what they built and why → a working session or pairing → offer. Two weeks end to end. Every extra week loses candidates to companies that move faster.

Make the offer real

Early-stage offers are fixed pay plus a meaningful ESOP grant. Be explicit: number of options, percentage, vesting, cliff, exercise price, exercise window, and what happens on acquisition. Candidates who understand equity will ask; the ones who don't deserve to be told. Read the ESOP guide from the candidate's side.

State a salary range in the posting. It filters before the screen, not after.

The 90-day notice

Many of your best candidates are stuck with a 60–90 day notice. Decide up front whether you'll fund buyouts; it's often the cheapest hiring lever you have.

Measure it

If you feature the role on this board, you'll see real, bot-filtered views and apply clicks on the listing. If a role gets views but no clicks, the posting is the problem; if it gets clicks but no good applicants, the requirements are.