The people layer
most founders
find too late.
I work with early-stage founders on the systems underneath
people decisions — before the silence becomes a resignation.
Most people problems
don't show up in an org chart.
They show up when your best person goes quiet.
When your incentive structure rewards the wrong things.
When a team that looked fine on paper starts to fall apart.
By the time it's visible, it's already been building for months.
Four products.
Choose where to start.
Team Health Diagnostic
Something's off. You've told yourself it'll stabilize. It hasn't. The team already feels it too.
→ Diagnostic scores, gap analysis, conversation guide
Compensation & Incentive Design
You're setting pay without benchmarks. You made a bonus call and now there are questions you can't answer cleanly.
→ Salary bands, bonus model, equity ranges, pay philosophy
Autonomy & Culture Design
You know the culture you want. Do your people? How you shape it now determines what it becomes at 50.
→ Decision framework, culture norms, expectation audit
People System (Full Lifecycle)
Every hire starts from scratch. Every exit leaves a gap. Let the system run while you build the product.
→ Onboarding playbook, role checkpoints, exit protocol
Scope and timeline defined in your first call.
I've seen these problems
from both sides of the table.
5 years building people systems inside startups, including 3 years as the first people hire at a DeFi company, working directly with the CEO.
Before that, 4.5 years in executive search at Navigos and JobHopin. I've placed people and watched what happens after.
I work with early-stage founders, not because it's a niche, but because it's where the decisions are hardest and the systems are thinnest.
— Ellie Chau, People Systems & Incentive Design