Don't hire your first developer yet.

You're not ready.

I know what you're thinking: "But I need to build." "I need to ship." "I need a technical co-founder, or I'm stuck."

No.

You need to validate demand first.

Here's what happens when you hire too early:

You burn runway on a product no one wants. You lose control of your tech direction. You slow down because now you're managing. Not building. You lose focus on features instead of customers.

I've watched founders hire agencies before PMF. I've seen teams of freelancers build beautiful products. That nobody used.

Runway gone. Product wrong. Startup dead.

The timing matters more than the talent.

Hire post-PMF. When you know what people want. When you've proven they'll pay. When the bottleneck is execution. Not validation.

Before that?

You don't need a full-time developer. You need strategic technical leadership. Someone who's seen this 50 times.

Stay lean. Validate first. Hire when it counts.