### Should You Hire? Thanks to the reduction in overhead and the need for fewer headcount with modern AI solutions, AI-native companies can delay hiring for longer than traditional startups. Content, support, engineering, and operations can be streamlined at these early stages. Before you hire, automate, automate, automate. Then, when it comes time to hire and fill critical roles, ensure they’re well-versed in AI, as that should be a given. Senior talent who have demonstrated their capability and are eager to learn new tools should be your priority. ### When You Do Hire - **[Ashby](https://www.ashbyhq.com/)** or **[Dover](https://www.dover.com/)** for applicant tracking. **[Paradox](https://www.paradox.ai/)** or **[Fetcher](https://fetcher.ai/)** for automating hiring processes and candidate screenings.  - **[Paraform](https://www.paraform.com/)** for matching expert recruiters with your hard-to-fill roles. - Niche communities will also be great resources for networking and finding the right candidates. As mentioned in step 6, some of the same communities in which you share content and product updates may have connections with the right candidates for early-stage opportunities.  ### Salary and Equity - Benchmark salary info with **[Pave](https://www.pave.com/), [Carta](https://carta.com/),** or **[AngelList](https://www.angellist.com/)** data. - Early hires should get meaningful equity, even if cash compensation is limited. Depending on location and role, C-level hires should range between .5-5% equity pre-seed and founding SWE between 1-2%. More data for comparison [here](https://topstartups.io/startup-salary-equity-database/?stage=Pre-Seed).  ### Payroll and Benefits - **[Gusto](https://gusto.com/)**, **[Rippling](https://www.rippling.com/)**, **[Deel](https://www.deel.com/)**, and **[Justworks](https://www.justworks.com/)** for payroll, benefits, and compliance. Each of these services handles both U.S.-based and international hires, with Justworks being expensive but plenty capable in that area.