Implementation Plan: Founding Recruiting Lead

What I would actually do at Wispr Flow based on my 6-pillar recruiting system.

The Mandate

Give Tanay his 40%+ recruiting time back. Build the engine that scales Wispr from 15 to 50 without losing the magic.

Goal: Demonstrate immediate value. Show I can operate at Wispr speed.

Phase	Focus	Actions
Day 1-2	Immersion	Product deep dive, meet every team member (run 25-5 Playbook on myself), get full access to Ashby/Linear/Slack, understand current pipeline state
Day 3-5	Audit & Quick Hits	Audit Ashby setup, review all open roles, identify #1 bottleneck (likely ML Engineer), find 3 quick fixes to implement immediately
Day 6-7	First Deliverable	Deliver one tangible thing (see below)

First Deliverable Options:

Success: Tanay sees I can move fast and thinks "okay, this person gets it."

Goal: Own 70% of Tanay's current recruiting work. Build the foundation for scale.

Week	Focus	Actions
Week 1	First Win	See above
Week 2	Spin Up Channels	Identify 2-3 talent-dense ponds per role, set up tracking sheet, begin outreach on ML Engineer, build candidate prep materials
Week 3	Systems Setup	Implement ATS workflows in Ashby, update careers page, create first discovery project draft, create interviewer prep templates
Week 4	First Iteration	Review metrics (response rates, pipeline quality), double down on what works, get first candidates into interviews, 30-day review with Tanay

Day 30 Deliverables:

Based on my recruiting infrastructure system. Two 6-week sprints that follow the natural hiring funnel.

Week	Focus	Pillar
W1	Day 1 audit, understand all open roles, define priority role, begin sourcing for urgent hire	Foundation, 1
W2	Complete role definitions for all roles using 2-variable framework, create job scorecards	1
W3	Rewrite all JDs as sales pages, update careers page and landing pages	2
W4	Build pond maps for each role, set up tracking, create Familiar But Surprising outreach templates	3
W5	Create recruiter pitch scripts, interviewer prep docs, set up ATS email sequences	4
W6	Create discovery project templates for each role, Sprint 1 metrics review	5

Week	Focus	Pillar
W7	Launch discovery projects for all active candidates, establish review rubrics	5
W8	Build onboarding system: scope of work templates, first 7 days plan, reference check process	6
W9	Set up recruiting dashboard, track funnel metrics, identify and fix bottlenecks	All
W10	Advanced sourcing: expand to new ponds, build referral networks, leverage founder for outreach	3
W11	Create recruitment VSL, gather team testimonials, build employer brand content	2
W12	Document all SOPs, create training materials, quarter retrospective	All

Phase	Focus	Primary Pillars
Weeks 1-2	Foundation: know who we're hiring	Role Definition
Weeks 3-4	Attraction: make roles irresistible + find where talent lives	JD Sales Page, Sourcing
Weeks 5-6	Process: interview and assess properly	Interview to Sell, Discovery Projects
Weeks 7-8	Systematize: launch discovery projects + build onboarding	Discovery Projects, Onboarding
Weeks 9-12	Scale + optimize: metrics, expand sourcing, document everything	All Pillars

Following the "Let Fires Burn" philosophy. These are important but not urgent.

Skip For Now	Reason
Employer branding campaigns	Not until pipeline is flowing
University recruiting	Not until Open Challenge Page is built
Extensive process documentation	Ship first, document what works
Building a recruiting team	Be the team first

Focus on the existential fire: Get the ML engineers and client engineers in the door. Everything else can wait.

Metric	Day 30	Week 8	Week 12
Pipeline per priority role	15-25	40-50	60+
Tanay's recruiting time	<30%	<15%	<10%
Offers extended	1-2	4-6	8-10
Hires landed	0-1	2-4	5-8

Metric	What It Measures	Target
% of interviews pond generates	Quality of source	Track by pond. Kill low-performers, double down on winners.
Interviews per offer	Candidate quality entering funnel	Lower = better. Goal: <5 interviews per offer.
Hiring manager accept rate	Recruiter calibration	70%+ of submitted candidates get HM call

Area	What It Looks Like
The Engine is Running	Recruiting happens without Tanay (except final interviews). Every role has a talent-dense pond being worked. Discovery projects filter better than resumes. The bench is full of "not now, but later" candidates.
The Team is Growing	5-8 new hires landed (on track for 15 to 50). ML inference team is no longer the bottleneck. Act 2 has the Architects it needs.
The Foundation is Documented	SOPs for every stage of the funnel. JD templates that actually convert. Playbooks anyone can follow.

This plan adapts to what I learn in the first week. The structure is set, but the tactics flex based on what I find.