      SaaStr · 2023-07-25
      · 1044d
    

CEO Recruiting Time Allocation: Why 20%+ of Your Time is Critical from Traction to Scale

SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin argues that CEOs must dedicate at least 20% of their time (one full day per week) to recruiting during the critical growth phase from initial traction ($1-2M ARR) through initial scale ($10M ARR). Drawing parallels to Nick Saban's daily recruiting practices, the article emphasizes that episodic recruiting fails at scale and that CEOs must personally source, interview, and network to build the senior management team needed for growth.

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Metrics in this report

CEO Recruiting Time Allocation

20%%

minimum

Post-traction SaaS companies, from initial traction to initial scale

Critical Recruiting Phase Upper Bound

4-5M ARR

threshold

Revenue level by which recruiting must become a non-negotiable CEO priority

Daily Interview Minimum

2interviews

minimum

At-scale SaaS companies for adequate hiring velocity

Daily Recruiting Time Commitment

60-90minutes

minimum

CEO time allocation at scale stage

Initial Scale Threshold

10M ARR

approximate

Revenue milestone defining end of critical traction-to-scale recruiting phase

Initial Traction Threshold

1-2M ARR

range

Revenue milestone where recruiting intensity must increase significantly

Recruiter Response Time

24hours

maximum

Response deadline for candidate feedback from recruiters