Every new hire arrives with the same unspoken questions: what are we building, who decides what, what can I promise a customer, and where do I find things. If the founder answers each one in person, onboarding takes days of your time and still gets patchy. The goal of this checklist is to explain each thing once, in a place the new person can find.
Before they start
- Write a one-page picture of the company: what you do, for whom, and what you are focused on this quarter.
- List the ten questions every new person asks, with a short, dated answer to each.
- Name one buddy who answers day-to-day questions, so the founder is not the only door.
- Prepare accounts and access so nothing blocks the first morning.
Day one
- Spend thirty minutes yourself on why the company exists and what good work looks like here.
- Walk through the one-page picture and the ten answers.
- Give one small, real task they can finish the same day. A finished task builds confidence quickly.
Week one
- Introduce them to the people they will work with most.
- Ask them to keep a list of every question they had to ask, and give that list back to you on Friday.
- Turn that list into new answers. Their questions are the most honest test of what is missing.
First month
- Agree on what success looks like at day 30, in writing.
- Check which questions still reach you. Each repeat is a missing answer or an answer that is not trusted.
- Let them own one thing completely, so they feel responsible for a result.
The trap to avoid
The most common mistake is explaining everything verbally because it is fast today. It is slower every time after that. Another is writing an answer once and never dating or updating it, so people stop trusting it and go back to asking you.
Where an AI clone helps
Once your answers exist, a new hire still has to find them. A clone of the founder can answer in conversation, from facts you approved, and tell the new person when it does not know, so the question comes to you instead of a wrong guess. AskMyStartup is built for exactly this and is in private beta. You can join the waitlist with your email.