Surge AI's CEO says he would never hire these 2 roles at an early-stage startup

In a recent episode of the 'No Priors Podcast', Edwin Chen, CEO of Surge AI, sparked a lively discussion about the hiring strategies of early-stage startups. Chen, who has a background as a data scientist, firmly stated that he would never include product managers or data scientists among his initial hires. Chen expressed his surprise at how often these roles are listed by new founders within their first few key hires. He emphasized that data scientists might be beneficial for optimizing products by small margins, such as 2% or 5%, but this focus is misguided when launching a startup. "When starting a company, your goal should be to achieve significant breakthroughs, aiming for tenfold or hundredfold improvements rather than getting bogged down by minor details," he remarked. He also criticized the early hiring of product managers, arguing that their role is only truly essential when a company has outgrown its initial stages. According to Chen, engineers should take the lead in product direction during the early phases. "Your engineers should be actively engaged and generating innovative ideas themselves," he noted. He believes that product managers become relevant only when the team expands and the demands on engineers increase. Chen's perspective adds to the ongoing debate in the startup ecosystem regarding the value of product managers. Often described as 'mini-CEOs', these professionals are seen as key figures bridging communication among engineers, sales, and customer service. Yet, opinions vary widely, with some tech professionals questioning their overall contribution. In light of these discussions, companies like Microsoft are reassessing their organizational structures to favor more engineers over product managers. This trend reflects a broader movement in the tech industry, where leaders are encouraged to adopt a 'founder mode' approach, prioritizing direct involvement in product decisions. For instance, Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky has integrated product management with marketing, while Snap recently reduced its number of product managers to enhance decision-making efficiency. Despite the pushback against the product manager role, some believe that as artificial intelligence continues to evolve, the significance of product managers will only increase. Microsoft’s CTO, Kevin Scott, highlighted their importance in establishing effective feedback mechanisms for improving AI systems. As the startup landscape shifts, the discussions surrounding these roles are far from over.