In a startup team of fewer than ten people, interviewing is company-building, not admin.
Hiring in a team of fewer than ten people is never just about filling a role. It is about shaping the company itself.
When the team is small, every new person changes the energy, the quality bar, the speed of execution, and the culture. One strong hire can lift the whole company. One weak hire can create drag everywhere. That is why interviews matter so much.
In the early stages, this responsibility usually lands on the founder. There is no real way to outsource judgment. You have to spend the time, ask the right questions, listen carefully, and assess more than just resumes and polished answers. You are trying to understand how someone thinks, how they solve problems, how they communicate, and whether they will raise the standard for the team.
That is what I have been doing at Edzy. A lot of interviews. A lot of assessment. A lot of careful thinking about people, potential, and fit.
Doing interviews well is hard. It takes patience, focus, and consistency. But it is one of the highest-leverage things a founder can do. In a small team, hiring is not an HR process. It is a company-building process.
And like most important startup decisions, it deserves to be done properly.