Fired
There are people who were at OpenDNS in the early days who were incredible, and as we grew, became less and less incredible, largely because the things that made them incredible actually started to be really frustrating as the company grew and they didn't want to change those things. So they had to leave. Usually it was a series of conversations about how the person, their peers, and the company were all unhappy, and why should we perpetuate the pain. We'd do our best to have them leave in a way that made them feel dignified and like they controlled their destiny, and but once in a while, there wasn't a meeting of the minds and we had to say "well, it's not gonna be fixed and it's time to go do something else." Even in those cases, I always thought so highly of the work I did with those people over the long haul, even if it was painful at the end.<p>The point being, if I started a new company tomorrow, I would, without a doubt, go and try to hire some of those same people to help me start it.  And maybe now, as a more capable manager than I was then, maybe some would make it longer, or maybe some would realize as the company goes from 10 to 100, that they are just much more satisfied at really early stages. Maybe we'd even define their comp and equity to reflect the fact that they might not be on board for the long haul, but might be key for the early innings.<p>The same thing is true for hiring bigger company people too early... without structure and process, some folks go crazy too and have to leave.  You need the right people at the right time.  This is hard to do. I messed up a bunch of times. Some people grow with the company through stages, and some don't.  I think it's a responsibility of the company to help people grow if they want, or to end the misery and let them go back to what they love if they don't want to change.<p>Finally -- For what it's worth, people are fired all the time ( as I have been ) for all kinds of reasons, and so it's not a reason not to hire someone. Professional hiring managers know this.