Solve The People Problem

 For entrepreneurs, business is always personal—which can make tricky staffing changes especially hard to implement. We asked six founders: What’s the toughest personnel decision you’ve made?

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1/ Firing your first. 

“I had to fire my first employee after four years of working together, three of which were just the two of us. She had certain skill sets that were great [when we started], but as we grew, they actually conflicted with where I saw the business growing. It was tough—there was a sense of loyalty that was hard to get over. But consulting with my advisers and being honest about what I wanted for the future of the company helped me stick to my decision.”

—DENISE LEE, founder and CEO, Alala

2/ Rewarding talent.