Hire Slowly, Grow Slowly: How We Grew From 1 to 100 Employees
I shut down my computer and glanced at my desk calendar.
It was January 23, 2011. My company, JotForm, was five years old.
We had six employees, including some terrific designers and developers who spent their days improving and evolving the product.
As the founder and CEO, you might think I was focused on strategic growth. Maybe you imagine spreadsheets and acquisition charts and high-level financial meetings.
The reality?
I was doing customer support — all day long.
From the moment I sat down at my computer until the end of the workday, I answered hundreds of emails and customer questions.
And it was just me. I was a support department of one.
As I locked up the office on that cold day in January, I knew something needed to change.
I had built JotForm without any funding or investments. I took pride in our slow and steady climb, but this was getting ridiculous.
I placed a job ad the very next day.
By the end of 2011, I had replaced myself with nine customer support staff.
