Hiring
Look for the shortest and most direct path to hiring. This is typically hiring from your network and applicable forums first. If you can hire someone you already know and quickly assess for aptitude and potential, you will hire good people faster.
Don’t batch hire. Focus on filling your highest priority role and move on to the next once you have filled that role.
OCV recommends hiring workers in the United States. Exceptions are made for critical hires. Companies typically have two or fewer key employees outside the US. A critical hire is someone who has extensive experience with your open-source project and can make significant contributions to your company's success.
First hires
First hires are almost always engineers. Here are a few specific attributes to screen for when hiring early engineers:
Product-driven versus working on interesting technical problems
Can operate in an environment with high ambiguity
Proactive and independent in managing their work
Network recruiting
Begin your talent search within your professional network. Who are the smartest people you've worked with in the past? Who were the smartest people you went to school with?
This approach is particularly valuable for finding exceptional raw talent before they become "proven" in their careers. These individuals are often more motivated, less expensive to hire, and have tremendous growth potential. When evaluating these candidates, optimize for aptitude and slope—their natural abilities and how quickly they can learn and improve.
Leveraging your network creates two advantages. It expedites the recruiting process because you have privileged insights about these candidates, and it streamlines interviewing since you've already established their competence and compatibility with your working style.
Worker types
OCV companies hire through Deel. Which Deel structure you use — EOR (Employer of Record) or COR (Contractor of Record) — and which agreements get signed depend on whether the worker is an employee or a contractor and whether they're inside or outside the US. For step-by-step setup, see the Deel Founder Guide, along with additional guidance below for contractors.
US employees
US-based hires are recommended by OCV. They're engaged through Deel as an EOR and sign the EOR employment agreement, which is handled in Deel.
Non-US employees and all contractors
Non-US employees, US contractors, and non-US contractors are all engaged through Deel as a COR. Non-US employees are reserved for critical hires only — typically no more than two key employees outside the US. Contractors are used for part-time or limited-scope work. Each signs the COR agreement in Deel, plus one additional document for contractors:
US contractors need to sign the standard consulting agreement (found in company Google Drive > ToolKit > Legal Forms), which includes an IP clause.
Non-US contractors must sign a standalone PIIA sent via the ATS. For issuing the PIIA, see the PIIA Guide.
Hiring advisors
We don’t recommend bringing on external advisors except for project authors and key maintainers. People in both the startup and open source communities often just want to be helpful, without requiring compensation as a formal advisor.
Project author/maintainers
If you are not the original author or maintainer of the open source project, we strongly recommend making them an advisor. Their involvement promotes community trust, endorsement, and smoother collaboration (e.g., PRs, roadmapping). Even with limited availability, their influence, credibility, and connection to the community are high-value assets.
Domain experts and contributors
In rare cases, it may make sense to bring on a non-author advisor who offers material support to the business.
Example contributions:
Reviewing or vetting technical candidates
Making customer introductions or opening sales channels
Offering visibility and credibility in the OSS community
If you think there’s a need to meet with somebody on a regular basis where it would be fair to compensate them, discuss in office hours.
Advisor compensation
Formal advisors typically receive equity in the company to compensate for their time and effort. Equity allocation depends on the advisor’s level of active contribution, time commitment, and stage of the business.
Advisor equity guidelines
Minimum of 0.25%, maximum of 2.5%. Vesting period of four years (48 months), six-month cliff.
Criteria assessed:
Original author of the project (assuming a single author): + up to 1.5%
Time commitment to advise the company on monthly basis: + up to 0.25%
Active involvement in building the business (i.e. contribute to brand building, customer introductions, recruiting, etc.): + up to 0.5%
Merge requests improving the open source project are not considered to be active involvement in building the business.
Founder-Advisor Standard Template
Advisor compensation and scope of services should be outlined clearly in the Advisor Agreement. Standard advisor agreements can be found in the Company’s drive under the Toolkit folder, which can be adapted as needed.
Advisor equity compensation is based on the advisor's commitment and performance. Advisors need to fulfill both the time commitments and actions associated with their performance level. Use the Founder Institute’s Founder Advisor Standard Template (FAST) to generate a document for signature.
Hiring contractors
Contractors are self-employed individuals or companies hired to perform a specific job or service. They are not employees, are not entitled to employee benefits or protections (e.g., workers' compensation, unemployment insurance), pay their own taxes, and are typically paid a fixed fee or by project. Contractors are not eligible for equity. Both US and non-US contractors are engaged as Contractors of Record (COR) through Deel. See worker classification guidelines and contractor payment terms here.
US-based contractors: For part-time or limited-scope work, engage the contractor as a COR in Deel. In addition to the COR agreement, US contractors must sign the standard consulting agreement in the company Drive under ToolKit > Legal Forms, which includes an IP clause approved by the OCV legal team.
Non-US contractors: Engage non-US contractors as COR in Deel as well. In addition to the COR agreement, founders must provide a separate PIIA. See here for steps to issue the PIIA.
Hiring relatives & partners
We advise against hiring an individual who has a close relationship with the founders or another employee to avoid accusations of favoritism and blurring the lines between work and personal life. The appearance of nepotism can impact a workplace’s culture, creating complications at work with other employees. Managing relatives and romantic partners can also open up unnecessary liabilities and human resources risks.
Visa sponsorship
Due to the expensive and time-consuming nature of visa sponsorship and renewals, OCV companies do not provide visa sponsorship or transfers for team members. The only exception is executive relocation support for CEOs and CTOs. In these cases, OCV partners with an Employer of Record (EOR) to assist founders with visa transfers.
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