When I say to hire only the best people, I don’t mean just the best technical people (as though they would/should replace you so you can watch them do it). I mean the best people for every position. If you like the technical work (or the artistry, or whatever), then hire the best people to do the other work. The best HR people (who intimately understand the culture and quality of EP) to hire new people (as the company grows), the best accountants, the best project managers, the best artists, etc.

This will allow you to choose the area where your talents fit best, hence allowing you to create value in the areas that you enjoy the most. But at the same time it will allow EP to grow and continue to take on interesting projects and create more value (and I don’t mean money, but rather the end result of your hard work). And if everyone at EP really is the best, then the projects you take on won’t suffer, nor will the quality that EP churns out (even if the same core group isn’t writing code for every project). You’ll just be able to take on more projects, and bigger projects. And if you view “your” work as EP’s work (so to speak) then you can do what you love all day long, but have a wide array of cool products, sites, etc. that EP has done.

So the trick is finding and keeping the best people, while maneuvering yourself into a position that you enjoy the most and feel you can create the most value. (Also I don’t think this means a person has to cede control of the company. You (and the others at EP) can be “in charge” yet still focus on the things you want, if you hire the right people.)

As for your note, you’ve nailed my concern. I got into this for a reason, and it’s not to watch others do.

However, the counter-argument is underrepresented.

It sounds as though you’re concerned that expansion will detract your personal involvement in projects, and I don’t think you should brush that concern aside. The frustrations of an expanded team management role could lead to job dissatisfaction and micromanagment, trying to keep your hands on -through- your staff. It really sucks to lose a good lead (try to think of it as picking the better leads), but surely not as much as being a business owner who hates his job.

Things are still pretty crazy in my own development schedule, but do be bugging me. I’d love to work with you guys.

~Antonio

@Greg – thanks. Big(ger) might begin to creep in regardless of what we’d “like” to happen. As far as selling IDC goes… I wish I had some extra cash laying around.

@Paul – I’ve posted about selling your way of life (a service company) before – that would be tough. We actually have a surprising amount of residual income going on at pulp, but you’re definitely correct to assume an effort like Feed Rinse (or Wellstream) would be easier to transfer. Not that we’re at all interested.

Thanks for the votes.

Having never worked at a company like EP (small or large) my input is going to be pretty worthless, but, since I just scored a 20 on ARSE, I am going to provide my opinion anyways (because I have one, and most likely, it is correct).

Go big and do the best you can to keep the small feeling to your company (I think a lot of what Google does is pretty cool to accomplish that, although I haven’t worked their either). But don’t just hire people to hire people. Only hire the best people. The smartest people. The people who really plug into the culture you have going on at EP.

EP and its partners are one of the few teams I know that definitely could make BIG work well.

You do small well too, but I bet you could do BIG even better.

I had sale envy today for a bit over a 4-person affiliate marketing company that Linkshare acquired. I am over it now…my 2 hrs of wishing that IDC was the first…and instead am just back to business. Not yet where you are (in size)…2 full-timers (me included), 2 part-timers, and solid contractors – yet the growth pattern is set…if we get over 6 full-timers, I will be full-time management and biz dev…it is already evident.

Hire monsters, tackle as much work as possible, grow smart and fast if together, and some day, create your own sale envy.