In the early days of a life sciences company, founders often cover far more ground than their job titles suggest. They shape the science or technology, speak to investors, build partnerships, make hiring decisions and, in many cases, begin the commercial conversations too.
That breadth is often a strength. Founders understand why the company exists and can connect its work to the opportunity they see in the market. But as the business grows, there comes a point when one person can no longer give every area the attention it needs.
That raises a difficult question: which responsibility should move out of the founding team first, and who is the right person to take it on?
The hardest hire is often a handover
The challenge is rarely just finding someone with an impressive track record. It is deciding what the company needs that person to own.
A founder might know they need commercial leadership, for example, but “commercial” can cover very different priorities: understanding customers, securing early partnerships, developing a route to market, building a sales function or preparing for launch. Those activities may call for different experience, even if they eventually sit under the same job title.
Before starting a search, I think it helps to ask: what must this person achieve over the next 12 months? The answer makes it easier to define the role, the level of seniority required and the support that person will need to succeed.
When is it time for a commercial leader?
This is a question I often think about with growing MedTech and life sciences businesses. The first senior commercial hire can have a significant influence on how a company enters a market and builds its team.
Timing matters. Bring someone in too early, with an expectation that they will immediately generate sales, and they may find that essential work still needs to be done on the product proposition, evidence or route to market. Wait too long, and founders may struggle to give commercial opportunities the focus they deserve.
Neither situation has a simple answer. A company preparing for launch may need someone who has built a go-to-market strategy before. Another may need a leader who can develop partnerships or help establish where its technology has the strongest commercial fit. The useful starting point is the work ahead, rather than the title on an organisation chart.
The right hire depends on the next milestone
There is no universal first senior hire for a life sciences company. Depending on its stage, a business may need leadership across clinical development, regulatory affairs, operations, product or commercial growth.
The next milestone can help bring that decision into focus. What is the company trying to prove or achieve? Where are the founders’ time and expertise most stretched? Which gap presents the greatest risk to progress?
Those questions can also reveal that a permanent executive hire is not yet the right answer. If the scope of a role is still taking shape, experienced advisory or fractional support may help the business make progress and understand what it needs longer term.
Give the new leader room to lead
Once a company decides to hire, there is another question to settle: what will the founder hand over?
A strong candidate will want to understand which decisions they can make, where they will work closely with the founders and how success will be judged. If those expectations are unclear, even a well-matched hire can find it difficult to make the impact everyone hoped for.
It is worth having that conversation before approaching candidates. Clarity helps a founder explain the opportunity honestly, and it gives prospective leaders a better basis for deciding whether they are the right person for it.
The most difficult hire to get right may not be the most senior or the most technical. Often, it is the first hire that changes how the founding team works. For biotech founders preparing to raise, these decisions also need to add up to a hiring plan that investors can examine with confidence.
Planning your next fundraising round? Download Raise-Ready Talent to learn how Aspire Life Sciences combines market intelligence, cost modelling, talent feasibility and operational sequencing into a hiring blueprint designed to stand up to investor scrutiny and support execution.
I’d be interested to hear how other founders have approached that first handover. Which hire proved hardest to get right as your company grew, and what did you learn from it?
About the Author
James Trott is a recruitment and talent advisory specialist with more than 18 years of experience across Life Sciences and related sectors.
He works with early-stage to mid-sized biotech, TechBio, pharmaceutical, and healthcare organisations, supporting leadership teams on strategic hiring decisions across C-Suite, VP, Director, and specialist technical functions.
As Co-Founder of Aspire, established in 2013, James has helped build the firm into a trusted partner across Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, CROs, Research, Consumer Healthcare, and Healthcare Technology.
James is known for his relationship-led approach, pragmatic market perspective, and focus on helping companies think carefully about capability, team structure, and long-term growth — particularly during the critical early stages of company building.