# Hiring Your First Product Manager
You've been doing product yourself—talking to customers, writing specs, prioritizing the backlog. But as your Toronto startup grows, you're stretched thin. Here's how to know when it's time and how to hire right.
## When to Hire
- You have product-market fit and are scaling - Engineering is waiting on decisions you don't have time to make - Customer feedback is piling up unprocessed - You're spending >40% of your time on product work
## What to Look For
**Execution over strategy**: Your first PM needs to ship, not philosophize. Look for candidates who can point to specific features they've shipped and the impact they had.
**Technical fluency**: They don't need to code, but they need to have credible conversations with engineers about tradeoffs and feasibility.
**Customer obsession**: Can they tell you about a time they changed their mind based on customer feedback?
**Startup tolerance**: Big company PMs often struggle with ambiguity. Prioritize candidates who've operated in resource-constrained environments.
## The Interview Process
1. **Portfolio review**: Walk through a product they've shipped. Dig into their decision-making. 2. **Case study**: Give them a real problem from your business. See how they think. 3. **Engineering pairing**: Have them meet your tech lead. Chemistry matters. 4. **Founder deep-dive**: Ensure alignment on product philosophy and working style.
## Setting Them Up for Success
- Give them a clear first project with measurable outcomes - Introduce them to customers in the first week - Establish decision rights early - Protect them from organizational noise while they ramp
The right first PM can transform how your company builds product. Take the time to get it right.