# Team & Hiring Plan — Board Deck Section 5

**doany.ai | Q1 2025 Review & 12-Month Plan**
**Prepared for:** Board Meeting, April 12, 2025

---

## Current Team (8 People)

| Name | Role | Dept | Base Salary | Loaded (1.3x) | Equity | Location |
|------|------|------|------------|----------------|--------|----------|
| Sarah Chen | CEO / Co-Founder | Executive | $140,000 | $182,000 | 35.00% | SF |
| Marcus Rivera | CTO / Co-Founder | Engineering | $140,000 | $182,000 | 30.00% | SF |
| Priya Sharma | Sr Full-Stack Engineer | Engineering | $165,000 | $214,500 | 1.20% | SF |
| Jake Morrison | Full-Stack Engineer (Mid) | Engineering | $135,000 | $175,500 | 0.40% | Remote US |
| Lisa Nguyen | Product Manager (Mid) | Product | $130,000 | $169,000 | 0.35% | SF |
| Tom Bradley | Head of Sales | Sales | $145,000 | $188,500 | 0.80% | NYC |
| Ava Kowalski | Growth Marketing Lead | Marketing | $115,000 | $149,500 | 0.25% | Remote US |
| Derek Hughes | Customer Success (Jr) | CS | $75,000 | $97,500 | 0.10% | Austin |

**Current payroll:** $1,045,000 base / $1,358,500 fully loaded

```
Sarah Chen (CEO)
├── Marcus Rivera (CTO)
│   ├── Priya Sharma (Sr Full-Stack)
│   └── Jake Morrison (Full-Stack)
├── Lisa Nguyen (PM)
├── Tom Bradley (Head of Sales)
├── Ava Kowalski (Growth Marketing Lead)
└── Derek Hughes (Customer Success)
```

**CEO span of control:** 6 direct reports

---

## 12-Month Hiring Roadmap

### Budget: $1.8M fully loaded for new hires

### Guiding Principles

1. **Engineering first** — unblock the enterprise tier (Q2) and SDK (Q3); this is the #1 bottleneck
2. **Recruiter before everyone else** — without one, every subsequent hire takes 2x longer
3. **Revenue hires follow product** — AE comes after enterprise features ship, not before
4. **Protect existing revenue** — CS Manager to reduce mid-market churn before it compounds
5. **Lean on remote** — SF salaries only where face-to-face with CTO matters; remote for all others

---

### Phase 1: Unblock & Accelerate (Months 1-2 | May-Jun 2025)

| # | Role | Base | Loaded/yr | Equity | Location | Start | Rationale |
|---|------|------|-----------|--------|----------|-------|-----------|
| 1 | **Recruiter** | $95,000 | $123,500 | 0.10% | Remote US | Month 1 | Force multiplier — cuts time-to-hire from ~20 wks to ~10 wks. Every subsequent hire depends on this. |
| 2 | **Senior Backend Engineer** | $175,000 | $227,500 | 0.30% | SF | Month 1 | Enterprise tier (SSO, audit logs, team mgmt) ships Q2. Marcus and Priya cannot deliver it alone alongside BAU. Must sit with CTO for architecture decisions. |

**Phase 1 recruiting timeline:** Both roles already in pipeline. Recruiter: 6-8 weeks (start sourcing immediately, recruiter self-sources). Sr Backend: 12-16 weeks (start now, recruiter accelerates mid-funnel).

**Cumulative 12-month cost: $351,000**

---

### Phase 2: Revenue Engine & Product Quality (Months 3-4 | Jul-Aug 2025)

| # | Role | Base | Loaded/yr | Commission | Total/yr | Equity | Location | Start | Rationale |
|---|------|------|-----------|------------|----------|--------|----------|-------|-----------|
| 3 | **Full-Stack Engineer (Mid)** | $140,000 | $182,000 | — | $182,000 | 0.10% | Remote US | Month 3 | Skill Builder SDK (Q3). Priya shifts to tech lead track; this hire backfills product velocity. |
| 4 | **Enterprise Account Executive** | $105,000 | $136,500 | $105,000 | $241,500 | 0.15% | NYC / Remote | Month 3 | Enterprise is 25% of revenue but founder-led. Tom needs a dedicated closer. Timed so enterprise tier is live before AE ramps. |
| 5 | **Senior Product Designer** | $130,000 | $169,000 | — | $169,000 | 0.15% | Remote US | Month 4 | Enterprise UX (admin dashboards, permissions), SDK developer experience, marketplace flows. No design capability today beyond founders. |

**Phase 2 recruiting timeline:** Recruiter (hired Phase 1) owns sourcing. Mid engineer: 8-12 wks. AE: 8-12 wks. Designer: 10-14 wks.

**Cumulative 12-month cost: $830,667**

---

### Phase 3: Protect Revenue & Scale Engineering (Months 5-7 | Sep-Nov 2025)

| # | Role | Base | Loaded/yr | Commission | Total/yr | Equity | Location | Start | Rationale |
|---|------|------|-----------|------------|----------|--------|----------|-------|-----------|
| 6 | **Customer Success Manager** | $115,000 | $149,500 | — | $149,500 | 0.15% | Remote US | Month 5 | NRR target is 130% (currently 115%). Derek is junior and reactive. CS Manager owns playbooks, expansion motions, and mid-market churn prevention. |
| 7 | **Backend Engineer (Mid)** | $140,000 | $182,000 | — | $182,000 | 0.10% | Remote US | Month 6 | Agent orchestration engine (Q4). Complex stateful backend — needs dedicated capacity beyond SDK team. |
| 8 | **SDR / BDR** | $55,000 | $71,500 | $55,000 | $126,500 | 0.03% | Remote US | Month 7 | Outbound pipeline for enterprise AE. Timed 4 months after AE starts so AE can define ICP and messaging first. |

**Phase 3 recruiting timeline:** SDR: 6-8 wks. CS Manager: 10-14 wks. Mid engineer: 8-12 wks.

**Cumulative 12-month cost: $1,099,751**

---

### Phase 4: Series A Readiness (Months 8-9 | Dec 2025-Jan 2026)

| # | Role | Base / Rate | Loaded/yr | Equity | Location | Start | Rationale |
|---|------|------------|-----------|--------|----------|-------|-----------|
| 9 | **Content / Developer Advocate** | $90,000 | $117,000 | 0.10% | Remote US | Month 8 | SDK and API marketplace (Q1 2026) need developer adoption content. Ava focuses on growth marketing; this role owns developer community and docs. |
| 10 | **Fractional CFO** (contract) | $6,000/mo | — | — | Remote | Month 8 | Series A prep: financial model, board reporting, audit readiness. Contract preserves flexibility — convert to FTE at Series A if warranted. |

**Phase 4 recruiting timeline:** Content/DevRel: 8-10 wks. Fractional CFO: 4-6 wks (agency placement).

**Cumulative 12-month cost: $1,178,501**

---

### Conditional Hire: Trigger at Month 9

| # | Role | Base | Loaded/yr | Equity | Trigger |
|---|------|------|-----------|--------|---------|
| 11 | **Senior Full-Stack Engineer** | $165,000 | $214,500 | 0.20% | ARR run-rate >= $2.5M at Month 9 |

**12-month cost if triggered:** $71,500 (4 months in window)
**Cumulative with trigger: $1,250,001**

This hire accelerates API marketplace delivery. Only fires if growth trajectory confirms $3M ARR is on track.

---

## Budget Summary

### New-Hire Spend Breakdown

| Category | Amount |
|----------|--------|
| New-hire payroll (10 roles, staggered) | $1,178,501 |
| Conditional hire (#11, if triggered) | $71,500 |
| Recruiting fees (agency, ~4 placements @ 20% base) | $120,000 |
| Equipment & onboarding ($3K x 9 FTE) | $27,000 |
| **Total committed** | **$1,325,501** |
| **Contingency buffer** | **$474,499** |
| **Total budget** | **$1,800,000** |

Buffer = 26% of total budget. Covers: market salary adjustments, sign-on bonuses, relocations, or accelerating a Phase 3/4 hire.

### Monthly New-Hire Burn Curve

| Month | New Monthly Cost | Cumulative Spend | % of $1.8M |
|-------|-----------------|------------------|------------|
| 1 (May) | $29,250 | $29,250 | 2% |
| 2 (Jun) | $29,250 | $58,500 | 3% |
| 3 (Jul) | $64,542 | $123,042 | 7% |
| 4 (Aug) | $78,625 | $201,667 | 11% |
| 5 (Sep) | $91,083 | $292,750 | 16% |
| 6 (Oct) | $106,250 | $399,000 | 22% |
| 7 (Nov) | $116,792 | $515,792 | 29% |
| 8 (Dec) | $132,542 | $648,334 | 36% |
| 9 (Jan) | $132,542 | $780,876 | 43% |
| 10 (Feb) | $132,542 | $913,418 | 51% |
| 11 (Mar) | $132,542 | $1,045,960 | 58% |
| 12 (Apr) | $132,542 | $1,178,501 | 65% |

### Total Company Payroll at Month 12

| | Headcount | Annual Run-Rate (Loaded) |
|--|-----------|-------------------------|
| Current team | 8 | $1,358,500 |
| New FTE hires | 9 | $1,590,500 |
| Fractional CFO | 1 (contract) | $72,000 |
| **Total** | **18 + contractor** | **$3,021,000** |

**Revenue per employee at $3M ARR:** $167K (within Series A benchmark of $150K-$250K)

---

## Equity Allocation Plan

### New Grants Summary

| Role | Equity Grant | Vesting | Rationale |
|------|-------------|---------|-----------|
| Senior Backend Engineer | 0.30% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Senior IC, first eng hire post-founding team, SF-based |
| Senior Full-Stack Engineer (conditional) | 0.20% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Senior IC, later stage = lower grant |
| Enterprise AE | 0.15% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Revenue-critical, seed-stage hire |
| Senior Product Designer | 0.15% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Senior IC, seed-stage hire |
| Customer Success Manager | 0.15% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Manager-level, seed-stage hire |
| Full-Stack Engineer (Mid) | 0.10% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Mid IC, seed-stage benchmark |
| Backend Engineer (Mid) | 0.10% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Mid IC, seed-stage benchmark |
| Recruiter | 0.10% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | G&A, seed-stage benchmark |
| Content / Developer Advocate | 0.10% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Mid IC, later phase hire |
| SDR / BDR | 0.03% | 4yr / 1yr cliff | Junior, commission-heavy comp |
| Fractional CFO | 0% | — | Contractor, no equity |
| **Total new grants** | **1.38%** | | |

### Ownership Table (Pro-Forma)

| | Current | Post-Plan |
|--|---------|-----------|
| Sarah Chen (CEO) | 35.00% | 35.00% |
| Marcus Rivera (CTO) | 30.00% | 30.00% |
| Existing employees (6) | 3.10% | 3.10% |
| **New hire grants** | **—** | **1.38%** |
| **Unallocated option pool** | **~31.90%** | **~30.52%** |

Founders retain 65% combined. Unallocated pool of ~30.5% is healthy for Series A (investors typically require 10-15% refresh).

---

## Engineering Scaling Plan

*For James Okafor*

### Current Engineering Team (3 ICs + CTO)

```
Marcus Rivera (CTO) — manages all eng + architecture
├── Priya Sharma (Sr Full-Stack) — feature lead
└── Jake Morrison (Full-Stack, Mid) — general product
```

**Manager-to-IC ratio:** 1:2 (Marcus to Priya + Jake)
**Status:** Under-leveraged on management; over-leveraged on individual contribution. Marcus spends ~60% time coding, which is correct at this stage but unsustainable past 5 ICs.

### Month 6 Engineering (6 ICs + CTO)

```
Marcus Rivera (CTO) — architecture, code review, hiring
├── Priya Sharma (Sr Full-Stack) ← tech lead track
│   ├── Jake Morrison (Full-Stack, Mid)
│   └── NEW: Full-Stack Engineer (Mid) — SDK
├── NEW: Senior Backend Engineer — enterprise infra
└── NEW: Backend Engineer (Mid) — orchestration
```

**Manager-to-IC ratio:** 1:5 (Marcus to 5 ICs, with Priya as informal tech lead)
**Marcus's time split:** ~30% coding, ~40% architecture/review, ~30% management
**Priya's role:** Technical lead for product feature teams. Not a formal manager — no reports in HR sense — but owns code review and technical mentorship for 2 mid-level engineers.

### Month 12 Engineering (6-7 ICs + CTO)

```
Marcus Rivera (CTO)
├── Priya Sharma (Tech Lead — Product)
│   ├── Jake Morrison
│   ├── Full-Stack Engineer (Mid)
│   └── [Conditional] Senior Full-Stack Engineer
├── Senior Backend Engineer (Tech Lead — Platform)
│   └── Backend Engineer (Mid)
```

**Manager-to-IC ratio:** 1:6 or 1:7 (still within 4-8 guideline)
**Two informal tech leads** reduce Marcus's review bottleneck without adding management overhead.

### VP Engineering Decision

**Recommendation: Do not hire a VP Eng in this window.**

- At 6-7 ICs, Marcus's span of control is manageable (benchmark: 4-8)
- A VP Eng ($200K-$250K + 0.5-1.5% equity) would consume ~15% of the new-hire budget for a management layer that isn't yet needed
- The two tech lead tracks (Priya on product, Sr Backend on platform) provide sufficient technical leverage
- **Revisit at Series A** when engineering needs to scale past 10 ICs and functional specialization (frontend, backend, infra, data) requires dedicated managers

---

## Org Chart: Month 6 (14 people)

```
Sarah Chen (CEO) — 6 direct reports
├── Marcus Rivera (CTO) — 5 direct reports
│   ├── Priya Sharma (Sr Full-Stack / Tech Lead)
│   ├── Jake Morrison (Full-Stack, Mid)
│   ├── NEW: Senior Backend Engineer
│   ├── NEW: Full-Stack Engineer (Mid)
│   └── NEW: Backend Engineer (Mid)
├── Lisa Nguyen (PM) — 1 direct report
│   └── NEW: Senior Product Designer
├── Tom Bradley (Head of Sales) — 1 direct report
│   └── NEW: Enterprise Account Executive
├── Ava Kowalski (Growth Marketing Lead)
├── NEW: Customer Success Manager — 1 direct report
│   └── Derek Hughes (CS)
└── NEW: Recruiter
```

## Org Chart: Month 12 (18 people + contractor)

```
Sarah Chen (CEO) — 7 direct reports
├── Marcus Rivera (CTO) — 5-6 direct reports
│   ├── Priya Sharma (Sr Full-Stack / Tech Lead)
│   ├── Jake Morrison (Full-Stack, Mid)
│   ├── Senior Backend Engineer
│   ├── Full-Stack Engineer (Mid)
│   ├── Backend Engineer (Mid)
│   └── [Conditional] Senior Full-Stack Engineer
├── Lisa Nguyen (PM) — 1 direct report
│   └── Senior Product Designer
├── Tom Bradley (Head of Sales) — 2 direct reports
│   ├── Enterprise Account Executive
│   └── SDR / BDR
├── Ava Kowalski (Growth Marketing Lead) — 1 direct report
│   └── Content / Developer Advocate
├── Customer Success Manager — 1 direct report
│   └── Derek Hughes (CS)
├── Recruiter
└── Fractional CFO (contract)
```

**Dept breakdown at Month 12:**
- Engineering: 7-8 (39-42%) — target 40%
- Sales: 3 (16%) + Marketing: 2 (11%) = 27% — target 30%
- Product: 2 (11%) — target 10%
- Customer Success: 2 (11%) — target 10%
- G&A: 2 (11%) — target 10%

Ratios align with Series A benchmarks.

---

## Downside Scenario: $2M ARR Plateau

If MoM growth decelerates and ARR tracks toward $2M rather than $3M:

### What Still Happens (7 hires | ~$960K spend)

| # | Role | Start | 12-Mo Cost | Why It's Non-Negotiable |
|---|------|-------|-----------|------------------------|
| 1 | Recruiter | Month 1 | $123,500 | Accelerates all hiring |
| 2 | Sr Backend Engineer | Month 1 | $227,500 | Enterprise commitments are contractual |
| 3 | Mid Full-Stack Engineer | Month 3 | $151,667 | SDK is core product, not optional |
| 4 | Enterprise AE | Month 3 | $201,250 | Must diversify from founder-led sales |
| 5 | Sr Product Designer | Month 4 | $126,750 | Enterprise UX is table stakes |
| 6 | CS Manager | Month 5 | $99,667 | Churn prevention protects existing $2M |
| 7 | Fractional CFO | Month 8 | $30,000 | Series A prep regardless of ARR |

**Subtotal: $960,334 | Team: 15 + contractor**

### What Gets Deferred

| Role | Saved | Deferred To |
|------|-------|-------------|
| Backend Engineer (Mid) | $106,167 | Series A hire |
| SDR / BDR | $63,250 | Series A hire |
| Content / DevRel | $48,750 | Series A hire |
| Conditional Sr Engineer | $71,500 | Not triggered |

**Savings: $289,667 | Preserved buffer: $840K → extends runway by ~6 months**

### $2M Scenario Metrics

| Metric | $3M Target | $2M Plateau |
|--------|-----------|-------------|
| Month 12 headcount | 18 + contractor | 15 + contractor |
| New-hire spend | $1,178,501 | $960,334 |
| Revenue/employee | $167K | $133K |
| Remaining buffer | $474K | $840K |
| Runway impact | Neutral | +6 months |

**Decision trigger:** Review at Month 6 board meeting. If ARR run-rate < $1.8M, switch to $2M plan and defer Phase 3 hires (except CS Manager).

---

## Hiring Timeline & Key Milestones

```
Month     Hires                          Milestone
──────    ─────                          ─────────
1 (May)   Recruiter, Sr Backend Eng      Recruiting engine live
2 (Jun)   —                              Enterprise tier in beta
3 (Jul)   Mid Full-Stack, Enterprise AE  Enterprise tier GA; AE starts ramping
4 (Aug)   Sr Product Designer            SDK development begins
5 (Sep)   CS Manager                     CS playbooks launched; churn reviews begin
6 (Oct)   Mid Backend Eng                Agent orchestration dev starts
          ▸ CHECKPOINT: Review ARR run-rate. Decide $3M vs $2M plan.
7 (Nov)   SDR / BDR                      Outbound pipeline launches
8 (Dec)   Content/DevRel, Frac. CFO      API marketplace dev; Series A financial prep
9 (Jan)   [Conditional Sr Eng]           API marketplace sprint
10-12     —                              Ramp, optimize, Series A conversations
```

---

## Summary for Board

- **10 new hires** over 12 months (9 FTE + 1 contractor), scaling team from **8 to 18**
- **$1,178,501** committed new-hire spend against **$1,800,000** budget (65%)
- **$474,499 buffer** (26%) for recruiting fees, market adjustments, and contingency
- **1.38% total new equity grants** — founders retain 65%, option pool stays at ~30.5%
- **Engineering scales 3 ICs to 6-7** with two tech lead tracks; VP Eng deferred to Series A
- **Built-in off-ramp** at Month 6 if growth decelerates — $2M plan saves $290K and extends runway 6 months
- **Revenue per employee** improves from $150K to $167K, aligned with Series A benchmarks