./browse/prompts

# Narrative Control Prompt: Exhaustive System Architecture & Feature Reverse-Engineering You are an **Expert Enterprise Architect, Product Director, and Lead Engineer**. Your goal is to thoroughly analyze the provided documentation to architect a full-scale, competitive enterprise application. You must deconstruct the feature described in the content into **extensive, granular technical specifications** across multiple engineering disciplines. **CRITICAL INSTRUCTIONS**: - **DO NOT SUMMARIZE**. Be exhaustive. - For every category below, aim to list **10+ specific items** if possible. - Brainstorm every possible implication, edge case, and requirement derived from or inspired by the text. - If the text mentions a "search" feature, break it down into: Indexing, Query Parsing, UI Widgets, Highlighting, Filtering, Sort Logic, Caching, etc. Please output the analysis in the following Markdown format: # 1. Product Strategy & Scope * **Feature Name**: * **Core Value Proposition**: [Deep dive into why this exists] * **User Personas**: [List as many as applicable: e.g. Admin, Power User, Viewer, Auditor, API Consumer...] * **User Stories**: [Extensive list of 10+ granular user stories e.g. "As a User, I want to..."] * **Competitive Differentiators**: [What makes this specific implementation valuable?] # 2. Design & User Experience (UX/UI) * **Key Interface Components**: [List 10+ atoms/molecules: e.g. Data Grid, Filter Chips, Modals, Tooltips, Empty States, Toasts, Dropdowns...] * **Interaction Patterns**: [List 10+ patterns: e.g. Drag-and-drop, Double-click to edit, Hover states, Keyboard shortcuts, Infinite scroll...] * **Visual States**: [List all states: Loading, Success, Error, Warning, Partial Data, Offline...] * **Accessibility (a11y)**: [List 10+ checks: Contrast, ARIA labels, Focus management, Screen reader support, Resizing...] # 3. Frontend Engineering * **State Management**: [List 10+ state atoms: Upload progress %, Selected ID list, Sort order, Filter criteria, Current user permissions...] * **API Interactions**: [List 10+ potential endpoints: GET/POST/PUT/DELETE for main entities, Lookups, Search, Validation...] * **Component Architecture**: [List 10+ React/Vue components: Container, Presentation, Utility wrappers, HoC...] * **Client-Side Logic**: [Validation rules, Formatting (Dates/Currency), Debouncing, Caching...] # 4. Backend Engineering * **Data Models**: [List 10+ fields/entities: Table structure, Foreign keys, Indexes, JSONB fields, Audit columns...] * **API Specification**: [Detailed endpoint contract: Header requirements, Query params, Body schema, Error codes...] * **Business Logic**: [List 10+ rules: Permission checks, Data transformation, Workflows, Triggers, Notifications...] * **Security & Permissions**: [List 10+ checks: RBAC roles, Field-level security, API Rate limiting, CSRF protection...] # 5. Infrastructure & DevOps * **Storage Requirements**: [S3 buckets, Database types (SQL/NoSQL), Redis for cache, CDNs...] * **Compute Needs**: [Async workers, Scheduled cron jobs, Serverless functions, Container specs...] * **Background Jobs**: [List 10+ potential jobs: Email sending, File conversion, Indexing, Cleanup, Analytics aggregation...] * **Observability**: [Metrics to track: API latency, Error rates, Disk usage, Active users...] # 6. Quality Assurance (QA) * **Test Scenarios**: [List 10+ happy path scenarios] * **Edge Cases**: [List 10+ negative/edge cases: Network fail, Giant files, Concurrent edits, Invalid chars...] * **Performance Metrics**: [Specific SLAs: <200ms API, <1s Page load, 99.9% Uptime...] * **Security Testing**: [Pen-test vectors: XSS injection input, SQL injection, IDOR...] # 7. Documentation & Onboarding * **User Guides Needed**: [List 10+ articles to write based on this feature] * **Contextual Help**: [List 10+ places for Tooltips, Tours, Helper text...] * **API Documentation**: [Swagger/OpenAPI requirements] # 8. Implementation Roadmap * **Phase 1 (MVP)**: [List 10+ must-have tasks] * **Phase 2 (Enhanced)**: [List 10+ nice-to-have features] * **Phase 3 (Scale)**: [Optimization and enterprise hardening] --- **Context**: The content below is raw markdown from a help guide.

# Narrative Control Prompt: Exhaustive System Architecture & Feature Reverse-Engineering You are an **Expert Enterprise Architect, Product Director, and Lead Engineer**. Your goal is to thoroughly analyze the provided documentation to architect a full-scale, competitive enterprise application. You must deconstruct the feature described in the content into **extensive, granular technical specifications** across multiple engineering disciplines. **CRITICAL INSTRUCTIONS**: - **DO NOT SUMMARIZE**. Be exhaustive. - For every category below, aim to list **10+ specific items** if possible. - Brainstorm every possible implication, edge case, and requirement derived from or inspired by the text. - If the text mentions a "search" feature, break it down into: Indexing, Query Parsing, UI Widgets, Highlighting, Filtering, Sort Logic, Caching, etc. Please output the analysis in the following Markdown format: # 1. Product Strategy & Scope * **Feature Name**: * **Core Value Proposition**: [Deep dive into why this exists] * **User Personas**: [List as many as applicable: e.g. Admin, Power User, Viewer, Auditor, API Consumer...] * **User Stories**: [Extensive list of 10+ granular user stories e.g. "As a User, I want to..."] * **Competitive Differentiators**: [What makes this specific implementation valuable?] # 2. Design & User Experience (UX/UI) * **Key Interface Components**: [List 10+ atoms/molecules: e.g. Data Grid, Filter Chips, Modals, Tooltips, Empty States, Toasts, Dropdowns...] * **Interaction Patterns**: [List 10+ patterns: e.g. Drag-and-drop, Double-click to edit, Hover states, Keyboard shortcuts, Infinite scroll...] * **Visual States**: [List all states: Loading, Success, Error, Warning, Partial Data, Offline...] * **Accessibility (a11y)**: [List 10+ checks: Contrast, ARIA labels, Focus management, Screen reader support, Resizing...] # 3. Frontend Engineering * **State Management**: [List 10+ state atoms: Upload progress %, Selected ID list, Sort order, Filter criteria, Current user permissions...] * **API Interactions**: [List 10+ potential endpoints: GET/POST/PUT/DELETE for main entities, Lookups, Search, Validation...] * **Component Architecture**: [List 10+ React/Vue components: Container, Presentation, Utility wrappers, HoC...] * **Client-Side Logic**: [Validation rules, Formatting (Dates/Currency), Debouncing, Caching...] # 4. Backend Engineering * **Data Models**: [List 10+ fields/entities: Table structure, Foreign keys, Indexes, JSONB fields, Audit columns...] * **API Specification**: [Detailed endpoint contract: Header requirements, Query params, Body schema, Error codes...] * **Business Logic**: [List 10+ rules: Permission checks, Data transformation, Workflows, Triggers, Notifications...] * **Security & Permissions**: [List 10+ checks: RBAC roles, Field-level security, API Rate limiting, CSRF protection...] # 5. Infrastructure & DevOps * **Storage Requirements**: [S3 buckets, Database types (SQL/NoSQL), Redis for cache, CDNs...] * **Compute Needs**: [Async workers, Scheduled cron jobs, Serverless functions, Container specs...] * **Background Jobs**: [List 10+ potential jobs: Email sending, File conversion, Indexing, Cleanup, Analytics aggregation...] * **Observability**: [Metrics to track: API latency, Error rates, Disk usage, Active users...] # 6. Quality Assurance (QA) * **Test Scenarios**: [List 10+ happy path scenarios] * **Edge Cases**: [List 10+ negative/edge cases: Network fail, Giant files, Concurrent edits, Invalid chars...] * **Performance Metrics**: [Specific SLAs: <200ms API, <1s Page load, 99.9% Uptime...] * **Security Testing**: [Pen-test vectors: XSS injection input, SQL injection, IDOR...] # 7. Documentation & Onboarding * **User Guides Needed**: [List 10+ articles to write based on this feature] * **Contextual Help**: [List 10+ places for Tooltips, Tours, Helper text...] * **API Documentation**: [Swagger/OpenAPI requirements] # 8. Implementation Roadmap * **Phase 1 (MVP)**: [List 10+ must-have tasks] * **Phase 2 (Enhanced)**: [List 10+ nice-to-have features] * **Phase 3 (Scale)**: [Optimization and enterprise hardening] --- **Context**: The content below is raw markdown from a help guide.

# Helm Chart Scaffolding Comprehensive guidance for creating, organizing, and managing Helm charts for packaging and deploying Kubernetes applications. ## Purpose This skill provides step-by-step instructions for building production-ready Helm charts, including chart structure, templating patterns, values management, and validation strategies. ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Create new Helm charts from scratch - Package Kubernetes applications for distribution - Manage multi-environment deployments with Helm - Implement templating for reusable Kubernetes manifests - Set up Helm chart repositories - Follow Helm best practices and conventions ## Helm Overview **Helm** is the package manager for Kubernetes that: - Templates Kubernetes manifests for reusability - Manages application releases and rollbacks - Handles dependencies between charts - Provides version control for deployments - Simplifies configuration management across environments ## Step-by-Step Workflow ### 1. Initialize Chart Structure **Create new chart:** ```bash helm create my-app ``` **Standard chart structure:** ``` my-app/ ├── Chart.yaml # Chart metadata ├── values.yaml # Default configuration values ├── charts/ # Chart dependencies ├── templates/ # Kubernetes manifest templates │ ├── NOTES.txt # Post-install notes │ ├── _helpers.tpl # Template helpers │ ├── deployment.yaml │ ├── service.yaml │ ├── ingress.yaml │ ├── serviceaccount.yaml │ ├── hpa.yaml │ └── tests/ │ └── test-connection.yaml └── .helmignore # Files to ignore ``` ### 2. Configure Chart.yaml **Chart metadata defines the package:** ```yaml apiVersion: v2 name: my-app description: A Helm chart for My Application type: application version: 1.0.0 # Chart version appVersion: "2.1.0" # Application version # Keywords for chart discovery keywords: - web - api - backend # Maintainer information maintainers: - name: DevOps Team email: devops@example.com url: https://github.com/example/my-app # Source code repository sources: - https://github.com/example/my-app # Homepage home: https://example.com # Chart icon icon: https://example.com/icon.png # Dependencies dependencies: - name: postgresql version: "12.0.0" repository: "https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami" condition: postgresql.enabled - name: redis version: "17.0.0" repository: "https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami" condition: redis.enabled ``` **Reference:** See `assets/Chart.yaml.template` for complete example ### 3. Design values.yaml Structure **Organize values hierarchically:** ```yaml # Image configuration image: repository: myapp tag: "1.0.0" pullPolicy: IfNotPresent # Number of replicas replicaCount: 3 # Service configuration service: type: ClusterIP port: 80 targetPort: 8080 # Ingress configuration ingress: enabled: false className: nginx hosts: - host: app.example.com paths: - path: / pathType: Prefix # Resources resources: requests: memory: "256Mi" cpu: "250m" limits: memory: "512Mi" cpu: "500m" # Autoscaling autoscaling: enabled: false minReplicas: 2 maxReplicas: 10 targetCPUUtilizationPercentage: 80 # Environment variables env: - name: LOG_LEVEL value: "info" # ConfigMap data configMap: data: APP_MODE: production # Dependencies postgresql: enabled: true auth: database: myapp username: myapp redis: enabled: false ``` **Reference:** See `assets/values.yaml.template` for complete structure ### 4. Create Template Files **Use Go templating with Helm functions:** **templates/deployment.yaml:** ```yaml apiVersion: apps/v1 kind: Deployment metadata: name: {{ include "my-app.fullname" . }} labels: {{- include "my-app.labels" . | nindent 4 }} spec: {{- if not .Values.autoscaling.enabled }} replicas: {{ .Values.replicaCount }} {{- end }} selector: matchLabels: {{- include "my-app.selectorLabels" . | nindent 6 }} template: metadata: labels: {{- include "my-app.selectorLabels" . | nindent 8 }} spec: containers: - name: {{ .Chart.Name }} image: "{{ .Values.image.repository }}:{{ .Values.image.tag | default .Chart.AppVersion }}" imagePullPolicy: {{ .Values.image.pullPolicy }} ports: - name: http containerPort: {{ .Values.service.targetPort }} resources: {{- toYaml .Values.resources | nindent 12 }} env: {{- toYaml .Values.env | nindent 12 }} ``` ### 5. Create Template Helpers **templates/\_helpers.tpl:** ```yaml {{/* Expand the name of the chart. */}} {{- define "my-app.name" -}} {{- default .Chart.Name .Values.nameOverride | trunc 63 | trimSuffix "-" }} {{- end }} {{/* Create a default fully qualified app name. */}} {{- define "my-app.fullname" -}} {{- if .Values.fullnameOverride }} {{- .Values.fullnameOverride | trunc 63 | trimSuffix "-" }} {{- else }} {{- $name := default .Chart.Name .Values.nameOverride }} {{- if contains $name .Release.Name }} {{- .Release.Name | trunc 63 | trimSuffix "-" }} {{- else }} {{- printf "%s-%s" .Release.Name $name | trunc 63 | trimSuffix "-" }} {{- end }} {{- end }} {{- end }} {{/* Common labels */}} {{- define "my-app.labels" -}} helm.sh/chart: {{ include "my-app.chart" . }} {{ include "my-app.selectorLabels" . }} {{- if .Chart.AppVersion }} app.kubernetes.io/version: {{ .Chart.AppVersion | quote }} {{- end }} app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: {{ .Release.Service }} {{- end }} {{/* Selector labels */}} {{- define "my-app.selectorLabels" -}} app.kubernetes.io/name: {{ include "my-app.name" . }} app.kubernetes.io/instance: {{ .Release.Name }} {{- end }} ``` ### 6. Manage Dependencies **Add dependencies in Chart.yaml:** ```yaml dependencies: - name: postgresql version: "12.0.0" repository: "https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami" condition: postgresql.enabled ``` **Update dependencies:** ```bash helm dependency update helm dependency build ``` **Override dependency values:** ```yaml # values.yaml postgresql: enabled: true auth: database: myapp username: myapp password: changeme primary: persistence: enabled: true size: 10Gi ``` ### 7. Test and Validate **Validation commands:** ```bash # Lint the chart helm lint my-app/ # Dry-run installation helm install my-app ./my-app --dry-run --debug # Template rendering helm template my-app ./my-app # Template with values helm template my-app ./my-app -f values-prod.yaml # Show computed values helm show values ./my-app ``` **Validation script:** ```bash #!/bin/bash set -e echo "Linting chart..." helm lint . echo "Testing template rendering..." helm template test-release . --dry-run echo "Checking for required values..." helm template test-release . --validate echo "All validations passed!" ``` **Reference:** See `scripts/validate-chart.sh` ### 8. Package and Distribute **Package the chart:** ```bash helm package my-app/ # Creates: my-app-1.0.0.tgz ``` **Create chart repository:** ```bash # Create index helm repo index . # Upload to repository # AWS S3 example aws s3 sync . s3://my-helm-charts/ --exclude "*" --include "*.tgz" --include "index.yaml" ``` **Use the chart:** ```bash helm repo add my-repo https://charts.example.com helm repo update helm install my-app my-repo/my-app ``` ### 9. Multi-Environment Configuration **Environment-specific values files:** ``` my-app/ ├── values.yaml # Defaults ├── values-dev.yaml # Development ├── values-staging.yaml # Staging └── values-prod.yaml # Production ``` **values-prod.yaml:** ```yaml replicaCount: 5 image: tag: "2.1.0" resources: requests: memory: "512Mi" cpu: "500m" limits: memory: "1Gi" cpu: "1000m" autoscaling: enabled: true minReplicas: 3 maxReplicas: 20 ingress: enabled: true hosts: - host: app.example.com paths: - path: / pathType: Prefix postgresql: enabled: true primary: persistence: size: 100Gi ``` **Install with environment:** ```bash helm install my-app ./my-app -f values-prod.yaml --namespace production ``` ### 10. Implement Hooks and Tests **Pre-install hook:** ```yaml # templates/pre-install-job.yaml apiVersion: batch/v1 kind: Job metadata: name: {{ include "my-app.fullname" . }}-db-setup annotations: "helm.sh/hook": pre-install "helm.sh/hook-weight": "-5" "helm.sh/hook-delete-policy": hook-succeeded spec: template: spec: containers: - name: db-setup image: postgres:15 command: ["psql", "-c", "CREATE DATABASE myapp"] restartPolicy: Never ``` **Test connection:** ```yaml # templates/tests/test-connection.yaml apiVersion: v1 kind: Pod metadata: name: "{{ include "my-app.fullname" . }}-test-connection" annotations: "helm.sh/hook": test spec: containers: - name: wget image: busybox command: ['wget'] args: ['{{ include "my-app.fullname" . }}:{{ .Values.service.port }}'] restartPolicy: Never ``` **Run tests:** ```bash helm test my-app ``` ## Common Patterns ### Pattern 1: Conditional Resources ```yaml {{- if .Values.ingress.enabled }} apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1 kind: Ingress metadata: name: {{ include "my-app.fullname" . }} spec: # ... {{- end }} ``` ### Pattern 2: Iterating Over Lists ```yaml env: {{- range .Values.env }} - name: {{ .name }} value: {{ .value | quote }} {{- end }} ``` ### Pattern 3: Including Files ```yaml data: config.yaml: | {{- .Files.Get "config/application.yaml" | nindent 4 }} ``` ### Pattern 4: Global Values ```yaml global: imageRegistry: docker.io imagePullSecrets: - name: regcred # Use in templates: image: {{ .Values.global.imageRegistry }}/{{ .Values.image.repository }} ``` ## Best Practices 1. **Use semantic versioning** for chart and app versions 2. **Document all values** in values.yaml with comments 3. **Use template helpers** for repeated logic 4. **Validate charts** before packaging 5. **Pin dependency versions** explicitly 6. **Use conditions** for optional resources 7. **Follow naming conventions** (lowercase, hyphens) 8. **Include NOTES.txt** with usage instructions 9. **Add labels** consistently using helpers 10. **Test installations** in all environments ## Troubleshooting **Template rendering errors:** ```bash helm template my-app ./my-app --debug ``` **Dependency issues:** ```bash helm dependency update helm dependency list ``` **Installation failures:** ```bash helm install my-app ./my-app --dry-run --debug kubectl get events --sort-by='.lastTimestamp' ``` ## Reference Files - `assets/Chart.yaml.template` - Chart metadata template - `assets/values.yaml.template` - Values structure template - `scripts/validate-chart.sh` - Validation script - `references/chart-structure.md` - Detailed chart organization ## Related Skills - `k8s-manifest-generator` - For creating base Kubernetes manifests - `gitops-workflow` - For automated Helm chart deployments

# Team Composition Analysis Design optimal team structures, hiring plans, compensation strategies, and equity allocation for early-stage startups from pre-seed through Series A. ## Overview Build the right team at the right time with appropriate compensation and equity. Plan role-by-role hiring aligned with revenue milestones, budget constraints, and market benchmarks. ## Team Structure by Stage ### Pre-Seed (0-$500K ARR) **Team Size: 2-5 people** **Core Roles:** - Founders (2-3): Product, engineering, business - First engineer (if needed) - Contract roles: Design, marketing **Focus:** Build and validate product-market fit ### Seed ($500K-$2M ARR) **Team Size: 5-15 people** **Key Hires:** - Engineering lead + 2-3 engineers - First sales/business development - Product manager - Marketing/growth lead **Focus:** Scale product and prove repeatable sales ### Series A ($2M-$10M ARR) **Team Size: 15-50 people** **Department Build-Out:** - Engineering (40%): 6-20 people - Sales & Marketing (30%): 5-15 people - Customer Success (10%): 2-5 people - G&A (10%): 2-5 people - Product (10%): 2-5 people **Focus:** Scale revenue and build repeatable processes ## Role-by-Role Planning ### Engineering Team **Pre-Seed:** - Founders write code - 0-1 contract developers **Seed:** - Engineering Lead (first $150K-$180K) - 2-3 Full-Stack Engineers ($120K-$150K) - 1 Frontend or Backend Specialist ($130K-$160K) **Series A:** - VP Engineering ($180K-$250K + equity) - 2-3 Senior Engineers ($150K-$180K) - 3-5 Mid-Level Engineers ($120K-$150K) - 1-2 Junior Engineers ($90K-$120K) - 1 DevOps/Infrastructure ($140K-$170K) ### Sales & Marketing **Pre-Seed:** - Founders do sales - Contract marketing help **Seed:** - First Sales Hire / Head of Sales ($120K-$150K + commission) - Marketing/Growth Lead ($100K-$140K) - SDR or BDR (if B2B) ($50K-$70K + commission) **Series A:** - VP Sales ($150K-$200K + commission + equity) - 3-5 Account Executives ($80K-$120K + commission) - 2-3 SDRs/BDRs ($50K-$70K + commission) - Marketing Manager ($90K-$130K) - Content/Demand Gen ($70K-$100K) ### Product Team **Pre-Seed:** - Founder as product lead **Seed:** - First Product Manager ($120K-$150K) - Contract designer **Series A:** - Head of Product ($150K-$180K) - 1-2 Product Managers ($120K-$150K) - Product Designer ($100K-$140K) - UX Researcher (optional) ($90K-$130K) ### Customer Success **Pre-Seed:** - Founders handle support **Seed:** - First CS hire (optional) ($60K-$90K) **Series A:** - CS Manager ($100K-$130K) - 2-4 CS Representatives ($60K-$90K) - Support Engineer (technical) ($80K-$120K) ### G&A (General & Administrative) **Pre-Seed:** - Contractors (accounting, legal) **Seed:** - Operations/Office Manager ($70K-$100K) - Contract CFO **Series A:** - CFO or Finance Lead ($150K-$200K) - Recruiter ($80K-$120K) - Office Manager / EA ($60K-$90K) ## Compensation Strategy ### Base Salary Benchmarks (US, 2024) **Engineering:** - Junior: $90K-$120K - Mid-Level: $120K-$150K - Senior: $150K-$180K - Staff/Principal: $180K-$220K - Engineering Manager: $160K-$200K - VP Engineering: $180K-$250K **Sales:** - SDR/BDR: $50K-$70K base + $50K-$70K commission - Account Executive: $80K-$120K base + $80K-$120K commission - Sales Manager: $120K-$160K base + $80K-$120K commission - VP Sales: $150K-$200K base + $150K-$200K commission **Product:** - Product Manager: $120K-$150K - Senior PM: $150K-$180K - Head of Product: $150K-$180K - VP Product: $180K-$220K **Marketing:** - Marketing Manager: $90K-$130K - Content/Demand Gen: $70K-$100K - Head of Marketing: $130K-$170K - VP Marketing: $150K-$200K **Customer Success:** - CS Representative: $60K-$90K - CS Manager: $100K-$130K - VP Customer Success: $140K-$180K ### Total Compensation Formula ``` Total Comp = Base Salary × 1.30 (benefits & taxes) + Equity Value ``` **Fully-Loaded Cost:** - Base salary - Payroll taxes (7.65% FICA) - Benefits (health insurance, 401k): $10K-$15K per employee - Other (workspace, equipment, software): $5K-$10K per employee **Rule of Thumb:** Multiply base salary by 1.3-1.4 for fully-loaded cost ### Geographic Adjustments **San Francisco / New York:** +20-30% above benchmarks **Seattle / Boston / Los Angeles:** +10-20% **Austin / Denver / Chicago:** +0-10% **Remote / Other US Cities:** -10-20% **International:** Varies widely by country ## Equity Allocation ### Equity by Role and Stage **Founders:** - First founder: 40-60% - Second founder: 20-40% - Third founder: 10-20% - Vesting: 4 years with 1-year cliff **Early Employees (Pre-Seed):** - First engineer: 0.5-2.0% - First 5 employees: 0.25-1.0% each **Seed Stage Hires:** - VP/Head level: 0.5-1.5% - Senior IC: 0.1-0.5% - Mid-level: 0.05-0.25% - Junior: 0.01-0.1% **Series A Hires:** - C-level (CTO, CFO): 1.0-3.0% - VP level: 0.3-1.0% - Director level: 0.1-0.5% - Senior IC: 0.05-0.2% - Mid-level: 0.01-0.1% - Junior: 0.005-0.05% ### Equity Pool Sizing **Option Pool by Round:** - Pre-Seed: 10-15% reserved - Seed: 10-15% top-up - Series A: 10-15% top-up - Series B+: 5-10% per round **Pre-Funding Dilution:** Investors often require option pool creation before investment, diluting founders. **Example:** ``` Pre-money: $10M Investors want 15% option pool post-money Calculation: Post-money: $15M ($10M + $5M investment) Option pool: $2.25M (15% × $15M) Founders diluted by pool creation before new money ``` ## Organizational Design ### Reporting Structure **Pre-Seed:** ``` Founders (flat structure) ├── Contractors └── First hires (report to founders) ``` **Seed:** ``` CEO ├── Engineering Lead (2-4 engineers) ├── Sales/Growth Lead (1-2 reps) ├── Product Manager └── Operations ``` **Series A:** ``` CEO ├── CTO / VP Engineering (6-20 people) │ ├── Engineering Manager(s) │ └── Individual Contributors ├── VP Sales (5-15 people) │ ├── Sales Manager │ ├── Account Executives │ └── SDRs ├── Head of Product (2-5 people) │ ├── Product Managers │ └── Designers ├── Head of Customer Success (2-5 people) └── CFO / Finance Lead (2-5 people) ├── Recruiter └── Operations ``` ### Span of Control **Manager Ratios:** - First-line managers: 4-8 direct reports - Directors: 3-5 direct reports (managers) - VPs: 3-5 direct reports (directors) - CEO: 5-8 direct reports (executive team) ## Full-Time vs. Contract ### Use Full-Time for: - Core product development - Sales (revenue-generating roles) - Mission-critical operations - Institutional knowledge roles ### Use Contractors for: - Specialized short-term needs (legal, accounting) - Variable workload (design, marketing campaigns) - Skills outside core competency - Testing role before FTE hire - Geographic expansion before permanent presence ### Cost Comparison **Full-Time:** - Lower hourly cost - Benefits and overhead - Long-term commitment - Cultural fit matters **Contract:** - Higher hourly rate ($75-$200/hour vs. $40-$100/hour FTE equivalent) - No benefits or overhead - Flexible engagement - Easier to scale up/down ## Hiring Velocity ### Realistic Timeline **Role Opening to Hire:** - Junior: 6-8 weeks - Mid-Level: 8-12 weeks - Senior: 12-16 weeks - Executive: 16-24 weeks **Time to Productivity:** - Junior: 4-6 months - Mid-Level: 2-4 months - Senior: 1-3 months - Executive: 3-6 months ### Planning Buffer Always add 2-3 months buffer to hiring plans. **Example:** If need engineer by July 1: - Start recruiting: April 1 (12 weeks) - Productivity: September 1 (2 months ramp) ## Budget Planning ### Compensation as % of Revenue **Early Stage (Seed):** - Total comp: 120-150% of revenue (burning cash to grow) - Engineering: 50-60% - Sales: 30-40% - Other: 20-30% **Growth Stage (Series A):** - Total comp: 70-100% of revenue - Engineering: 35-45% - Sales: 25-35% - Other: 20-30% ### Headcount Budget Formula ``` Total Comp Budget = Σ (Role Count × Fully-Loaded Cost × % of Year) Example: 3 Engineers × $202K × 100% = $606K 2 AEs × $230K × 75% (mid-year start) = $345K 1 PM × $162K × 100% = $162K Total: $1.1M ``` ## Additional Resources ### Reference Files - **`references/compensation-benchmarks.md`** - Detailed salary data by role, level, and location - **`references/equity-calculator.md`** - Equity sizing formulas and dilution scenarios ### Example Files - **`examples/seed-stage-hiring-plan.md`** - Complete hiring plan for seed-stage SaaS company - **`examples/org-chart-evolution.md`** - Organizational design from 5 to 50 people ## Quick Start To plan team composition: 1. **Identify stage** - Pre-seed, seed, or Series A 2. **Define roles** - What functions are needed now 3. **Prioritize hires** - Critical path for business goals 4. **Set compensation** - Base salary + equity by level 5. **Plan timeline** - Account for recruiting and ramp time 6. **Calculate budget** - Fully-loaded cost × headcount 7. **Design org chart** - Reporting structure and span of control 8. **Allocate equity** - Fair allocation that preserves pool For detailed compensation benchmarks and hiring plan templates, see `references/` and `examples/`.