Jasmine Diaz

When did you know it was the right time to hire your first team member? Was there a sign you were ready to invest, or a specific financial benchmark that made you think, I m ready ? Many new founders rush the first hire because they believe they need to scale quickly to grow. In some cases, this is true. But there are a lot of hidden costs in that decision that could make or break your business.

Having previously owned a business, I know the hidden costs are payroll, taxes, benefits, bonuses, equipment, and software. These are necessary costs. And when you bring on your first person, you want to do right by them. Hiring to fire isn t the vision for any founder, so ensuring that you can shoulder the cost is a must.

I decided this go-round to create hiring tiers based on revenue goals: $1K/month MRR, $5K/month MRR, $10K/month MRR, and beyond. I may not hire a full-time staff member for a while, but might do a one-off 1099 hire for short-term projects depending on the need. But was there a moment in your founder career where you knew it was time for full-time help? And what hire did you make? Was it a good one?
#buildinginpublic

How are you covering the monthly costs of building your B2C or B2B startup? The virtual office, phone service, domain hosting, Supabase or Firebase, and other recurring expenses add up. How do you fund these odds and ends, and what cost-saving hacks help you get the most bang for your proverbial buck before revenue starts coming in?

I have two startups, so the overhead can be overwhelming. Still, I decided long ago that it was in my best financial interest to focus primarily on my startup needs and find free workarounds for my wants. For example, Canva is a low-cost design service, but I opted for a free Affinity account for most of my immediate needs. It requires more manual labor and a bit of design skill, but I m saving $15-$20/month. It s minimal, but I would rather spend that $20/month on Resend for my email needs than on design extras.
How are you managing?

Many of us enter tech with years of experience in another field, bringing valuable skills to the pivot. But that transition is rarely smooth or easy. Speaking to other founders who have made a tech pivot has been tremendously valuable.

I come from the entertainment and dating space, mostly working B2C as a service provider. The shift to a B2B SaaS start-up meant changing my approach to business development and adapting my marketing know-how to a very different audience and new clientele (brands/employers). The hardest part is realizing that some of my skills aren t transferable 1:1, so I have to adapt my B2C go-to strategies for B2B. It s a different animal.

For example, in B2C, articulating the problem and helping your customer see themselves in your solution requires a different skill. It s about meeting your customer emotionally and connecting with their desired outcome, which is very different from B2B. With B2B, you re building longer-term relationships and discussing ROI. It s less emotional and more about efficiency. The pain points are different, but in many respects the conversation is the same. I can help you, and here s how.

What learnings, challenges, or obstacles have you had to overcome to succeed in tech? What advice do you have for newcomers launching a product or service in this space?