Founder shares how Rs 50 lakh CMO hire failed in 8 months, asks startups to rethink senior hiring

Founder shares how Rs 50 lakh CMO hire failed in 8 months, asks startups to rethink senior hiring

A LinkedIn post by entrepreneur Pravin Laghaate has sparked a wider conversation about startup hiring decisions after he shared an example of a costly executive hire that was driven more by founder anxiety than actual business requirements.

In the post, Laghaate recounted the story of a startup that spent more than Rs 50 lakh on a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) who remained with the company for only eight months. According to him, the issue was not the executive's capability or fit for the role. Instead, he argued that the company hired a senior leader before the business had evolved enough to justify the position.

Here is the viral LinkedIn post

Laghaate suggested that many startups and growing businesses are making similar mistakes. He said founders often feel pressured to bring experienced executives into the company to create the appearance of maturity or to gain reassurance during periods of growth. However, when the business lacks sufficient work, complexity, or strategic demands for such a role, the hire can become an expensive misstep.

The founder noted that business owners frequently find themselves caught between two difficult choices: recruiting senior talent too early and paying for expertise that is not yet required, or delaying the hire and risking operational gaps. In his view, neither approach is a sustainable strategy if decisions are being made without a clear understanding of the company's actual needs.

The post quickly gained traction on LinkedIn, with professionals sharing their own perspectives on the challenges of scaling teams and building leadership structures. One user agreed with Laghaate's argument and said a useful way to assess the need for a senior hire is to identify which decisions are currently stalled because no one inside the company is equipped to make them. According to the commenter, if the goal is simply to reduce the founders' workload or accelerate execution, the business may be better served by stronger processes, systems, or hands-on team members rather than an expensive executive hire.

The user added that senior leaders become truly valuable when a company reaches a stage where strategic decisions are consistently delayed, teams require direction, or an entirely new function needs to be built and managed. In such cases, leadership hires are driven by business necessity rather than a desire to appear larger or more established.

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