What’s More Dangerous to Growth? Hiring the Wrong Person or Building the Wrong Product?

Posted on 23rd May 2025 at 12:07

Let me ask you a direct question.

If your business stalled tomorrow, would you know why?

Because in my experience, it’s rarely about the market. It’s nearly always down to one of two things. You either hired the wrong person, or you built the wrong thing.

This week on ScaleUp Radio Shorts, I sat down with Granger Forson to talk through two interviews that hit this square on.

One with Bob Hayward, a veteran entrepreneur who’s built seven businesses. And the other with Moksha Menon, a tech founder building a stress management app and navigating every startup challenge you can imagine.

Very different journeys. Same core lessons.

Still Hiring Based on Gut Feel? That’s Not Leadership. That’s Gambling.

Bob doesn’t pull punches, he sees what I see in too many growing businesses. Founders hiring on instinct instead of structure.

“We make up our minds in the first 30 seconds of an interview. Then we spend the next hour justifying it.”

Sound familiar?

If you’ve ever hired someone because they felt right, only to watch them unravel six months later, here’s the truth. You didn’t have a hiring process. You had a hunch.

Here’s what Bob recommends, and I’d second every bit of it:

Write job descriptions around outcomes, not tasks.

Get someone else to screen CVs. Remove your bias.

Ask for two references from previous line managers. A-players will sort it fast. Others will wriggle.

Use profiling tools like DISC. Don’t hire in the dark.

Hiring wrong slows everything down.

And if you’re serious about strategic growth planning, that’s not a mistake you can keep making.

Built Something You’re Proud Of – But No One’s Using It?

That’s where Moksha started. Her idea was strong. Her execution? Not quite there yet.

She launched a chatbot-style app to help people manage stress.

Sounded clever, but early users didn’t engage.

“The product was boring. No one wanted to come back.”

She could’ve blamed the market. Instead, she listened, iterated, and rebuilt.

Switched to a gamified model inspired by Tamagotchis.

Pivoted to B2B to reach stressed teams, not just individuals.

Secured a paid pilot to prove real-world value.

That’s the difference.

Real founders adapt. They don’t cling to bad ideas out of pride.

If you’re still waiting for perfect before you launch, or clinging to a product that customers aren’t excited about, you’re not refining. You’re hiding.

Leadership Development Isn’t Optional. It’s the Only Way Out of the Founder Trap.

Bob said something that really stuck.

“Most founders don’t set proper goals for their people. Then get frustrated when no one takes ownership.”

Sound harsh? It’s accurate.

If your business can’t run without you, you’re not leading. You’re propping.

And that’s a ceiling you’ll never scale past.

From our ScaleUp Challenges report:

49% of business owners say their business would suffer a lot if they took 3 months off.

Only 7% have a truly scalable model with recurring revenue and team autonomy

You need to get out of day-to-day decisions and start building systems that don’t rely on you.

That means structure, clarity, and people who own their roles.

Leadership isn’t about doing everything.

It’s about making sure everything gets done without you.

Kevin & Granger: What These Two Stories Really Show Us

On this week’s ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Granger and I unpacked what founders need to hear.

Hiring on gut feel isn’t strategy. It’s wishful thinking.

Product-market fit doesn’t come from dreaming. It comes from feedback.

Scaling starts when you step back. Not when you try harder.

If you’re running hard but not moving forward, this episode might sting.

But it will also help you see where you’re stuck.

SmartBoards and Smart90 – Built for Founders Ready to Lead Properly

If you’re nodding along but still stuck in firefighting mode, we should talk.

SmartBoards gives you a board of peer founders who won’t let you off the hook.

Smart90 gives you a 90-day rhythm to focus your team, build execution habits, and stay accountable.

BizSmart®’s programmes are built on decades of hands-on experience. The system they’re based on has recently been endorsed by the ScaleUp Institute, placing us among a select group of recognised UK ScaleUp support providers.

We deliver this through a proven framework called the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System™, built on the Four Pillars of Scaling: Strategy, People, Execution, and Cash.