Jason Lemkin's 4-part litmus test for VP hires in 60 days or less

The Gist

• 60-day VP test: great hires, metric improvement, workload relief, team buy-in
• Real VPs recruit constantly and have candidates ready on day one
• Excuses about slow progress signal misfit hires that cost 12+ months of runway

• A good VP should hire at least 1-2 great candidates in their first 30-60 days, as 50% of their job is recruiting.
• A VP should improve at least one key metric (e.g., sales, leads, CSAT, product velocity) within the first 60 days.
• A real VP must take part of the job off the founder's plate quickly, otherwise, they are not effective.
• The team's confidence in the VP should build within the first 30 days; if not, the hire may not be a good fit.
• If a VP doesn’t pass all 4 criteria (hiring, metric improvement, workload reduction, team confidence), founders should move on quickly to avoid compounding damage.
• Stretch VP hires are acceptable, but they must deliver on core responsibilities within the first 60 days.

• Evaluate new VPs rigorously within 60 days using the 4-part test (hiring, metric improvement, workload reduction, team confidence).
• Move on quickly if a VP fails to meet all four criteria to prevent long-term damage.
• Prioritize VPs who can immediately improve a key metric relevant to their role (e.g., sales, leads, CSAT).
• Ensure the VP reduces the founder's workload in their domain within the first 60 days.

• 30-60 days (Timeframe for evaluating a VP's initial hiring and performance impact.)
• 50% (The portion of a VP's job that should be dedicated to recruiting.)
• 20% to 30% growth (Minimum improvement a great VP of Sales should achieve in tough times.)