Hiring your first developer just got easier in one way: AI can now read your whole codebase and get someone up to speed in days. But picking the right person hasn’t gotten any easier, and it’s still the part that can burn your runway. I sat down with Derrick Reimer to answer a listener’s question about hiring his first developer: what to screen for, how AI changes onboarding, why pair programming beats take-home projects, and how to avoid hiring the wrong person. 🔗 Links in the video: 📖 Preorder now : Idea to Traction: https://ideatotractionbook.com Remote First Recruiting: https://remotefirstrecruiting.com/ Submit a question: https://robwalling.com/questions 🎞️ Watch Next: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Hiring Guide for SaaS Founders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2A2iD_wJOs Give Me 36 Minutes and I'll Teach You How to Find $1M SaaS Ideas: https://youtu.be/6sgCo6fMSGY About Me: I’m Rob Walling. I’ve been building, growing, and acquiring SaaS companies for nearly two decades. I’ve started six companies (five of them bootstrapped) and exited multiple times, most notably selling Drip in 2016. I’ve invested in over 200 startups, and my focus is on helping founders build multimillion-dollar companies without the pressure of the traditional "unicorn or bust" venture capital model. 🚀 Scale Your SaaS with TinySeed If you are a B2B SaaS founder looking for funding, mentorship, and community, check out the accelerator I co-founded. We designed it specifically for bootstrappers. Apply to TinySeed: https://tinyseed.com 🤝 Join the Community at MicroConf I co-founded MicroConf to create a space for non-venture-backed startups. Connect with thousands of other founders, watch world-class talks, and find the support you need to grow your business. Explore MicroConf: https://microconf.com 🎙️ Listen to Startups for the Rest of Us Check out my podcast, where I’ve shared insights on bootstrapping and growing startups for over a decade. With over 800 episodes and 15 million downloads, it’s the longest-running podcast for software entrepreneurs. Listen here: https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com 📚 My Books on Startups & SaaS I’ve written several books to provide tactical advice on launching, growing, and selling your software company: The SaaS Playbook- My guide to building a multimillion-dollar startup without venture capital. https://saasplaybook.com Exit Strategy: The entrepreneur's guide to selling your business without regret (co-authored with Dr. Sherry Walling): https://exitstrategybook.com Start Small, Stay Small: A developer's guide to launching a startup: https://startsmall.com/ The Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together: How to handle the psychological pressure of being a founder (co-authored with Dr. Sherry Walling): https://saasplaybook.com/order/p/entrepreneursguide-ebook 👋 Connect with Me Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/robwalling LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robwalling Website: https://robwalling.com