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A Simple 4 Part Test to Know If You’ve Hired the Right VP
Founders can assess VP hires within 60 days using Lemkin's four-part test: hiring, metric improvement, workload relief, and team confidence. Partial passes are not enough.
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Jason Lemkin, founder of SaaStr, published a four-part test for startup founders to evaluate whether a newly hired VP is the right fit. The test, shared on his blog, focuses on observable outcomes within the first 60 days.
Lemkin said a real VP should hire at least one great person within the first 30 to 60 days. If they haven't, they probably never will. That is a sign the hire is not a real VP, he said.
Second, one key metric should improve within that period. For a VP of Sales, that might be revenue. For a VP of Product, product velocity. A real VP makes some real improvements in job one within their first 60 days, Lemkin said. Someone who isn't a fit tells you why they can't make progress that quickly. If you hear that excuse, you probably need to replace the hire.