‘My first employee quit and it was 100% my fault’: Bengaluru-based founder's brutally honest post goes viral

A LinkedIn post by Meenal Goel, founder of content and creative agency CreateHQ, has gone viral after she candidly admitted that her first employee's exit was entirely her own doing.

In the post, Goel wrote, "My first employee quit after 3 months and it was 100% my fault! He was talented. Excited. Ready to hustle. But by month 3, he was burnt out and frustrated."

She revealed what the exit interview uncovered: "I don't know what success looks like here. Every day the goal changes." Calling this revelation tough to digest, she added, "That hit hard."

Citing hiring data, she wrote, "Here's what the data says about early-stage hiring: 28% of new hires quit within the first 90 days. Top reason? Lack of clear expectations and role clarity." She also noted, “Replacing an employee costs 50-200% of their annual salary.”

Goel admitted she had hired the employee "with enthusiasm but zero structure," with no onboarding process, clear KPIs, or 30-60-90 day goals in place. She said she had expected him to "figure it out," since that was her own approach as a founder.

"Chaos Is Your Job, Clarity Is Their Right"

Reflecting on the lesson, she wrote, "As a founder, chaos is your job. As an employee, clarity is their right."

For her next hire, Goel said she made key changes: creating a detailed role description instead of a vague "we all do everything" approach, setting measurable 30-60-90 day goals, holding weekly one-on-ones to track progress and roadblocks, and documenting processes so the new hire wasn't dependent solely on her.

The results, she said, spoke for themselves: "Our second hire is still with us 10 months later and crushing it."

Goel concluded the post with a broader takeaway for founders: "Your first few employees will make or break your startup. They're not joining for the salary. They're joining for the mission, clarity, and growth. If you can't offer that, you'll lose them. And you'll deserve to." She ended with a question to fellow founders: “P.S. - How many of your early hires are still with you?”

Internet Reacts

Posted five days ago, the post has drawn several responses. One user wrote, "Well said. Completely agree with this. I feel early employees don't expect perfection. They expect context. People can handle changing priorities if they understand why they're changing."

Another commented, "This is such an honest reflection and I wish more leaders spoke about their mistakes this openly... Talent needs direction just as much as opportunity."

A third user observed, "People rarely fail because standards are high. They struggle when the standards are unclear."