# Who should I bring into my startup (and who should I refuse)?

Hell yes, both ways. Otherwise no. Hunt mutual fit, then climb the commitment ladder. Do not take the yes that quietly makes someone else a co-founder.

Alex Zorychta · 2026-08-13

Bring people in only on mutual hell yes. If you want them and they will not engage, stop chasing. If they want in and you do not, refuse. Early on, hunt innovators and early adopters who get excited about unfinished work, usually inside your means. Then move them up a commitment ladder from reply to paid pilot. A bad yes costs the company one reasonable concession at a time.

## What does “hell yes, both ways” mean?

It means enthusiasm has to be mutual. Excited about someone who will not reply? Do not chase. Want a program that is not into you? Do not chase. Someone wants in and you are not into them? Do not chase that either. Your job is to find where both sides are hell yes.

## Who should I hunt early?

Innovators and early adopters. Affectionately, the weirdos: people who get excited about something unfinished. Do not chase checkbooks and celebrities unless they are already within your means.

## What counts as a commitment if it is not a check?

A reply. Time for a conversation. Their real knowledge of how a process works. Using the product. An introduction. A paid pilot. A subscription. Every rung counts. You are annexing their means into yours.

## Why is a “bad yes” dangerous?

You rarely lose terms in one dramatic betrayal. You give them away one reasonable concession at a time. The check that solves everything often quietly makes someone else a co-founder.

## How do I spot fake interest?

Genuine excitement is hard to fake. You will feel it on customers, partners, investors, and hires. Trust that gut. Nobody will know the heart of the business like you do.