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In this episode, I break down the three HR mistakes that quietly destroy startups before they ever reach product-market fit; and how to fix them.

First, I tackle the culture fit trap: why hiring people who think like you feels great early on but leaves your team unable to adapt when the market proves you wrong. I make the case for hiring for culture add instead and share what green and red flags actually look like during interviews.

Next, I get into why most founders botch terminations, and how a single bad firing can cost you $200K in legal fees while sending your best people running. I walk through a minimum viable termination process that protects both the company and the culture.

Finally, I dig into compensation and why stacking one-off salary negotiations without a framework creates pay inequity that silently drives top performers out the door. I lay out a four-part framework any founder can build in a couple of days.

The common thread across all three: treating people ops as a "later" problem always costs 10x more than getting intentional about it now.

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