The first 10 cyber hires shape a company’s reputation more than any employer brand campaign

This might be a bit counter-intuitive for us over here at Redshift HQ, particularly for a first post of a new venture but we're not the right solution for everyone. Whenever I've hosted training or spoken at founder events, I always wax lyrical about getting your first sequence of hires right and not rushing into high growth early on. Bad hires, early doors can sink you faster than a lead balloon.

Early hiring decisions within cyber functions have an outsized influence on how a company is perceived in the talent market. The behaviours, expectations, and working styles of the first cohort become the reference point for every candidate who follows. This dynamic is rarely appreciated in the moment, yet its effects become deeply embedded long before leaders realise how much weight those early decisions carried.

Brand campaigns can shape awareness, but they cannot override lived experience. The first hires define the organisation far more powerfully than any external messaging. Their capability sets the standard, their habits shape the culture, and their performance establishes the team’s credibility. Once these patterns form, they become the lens through which the wider market interprets the company.

Cyber candidates pay close attention to these signals. They share impressions, compare experiences, and form judgements quickly. A team that feels aligned, competent, and well‑led attracts interest without needing to push for it. A team that feels inconsistent or poorly structured develops a reputation just as quickly. The market responds to what it senses, not what a company claims.

The compounding effect of early decisions is significant. The first hires determine the pace at which work moves, the communication norms that become acceptable, the expectations around quality, and the way collaboration unfolds across functions. They also shape how the team is perceived internally, which influences how much support, trust, and investment the function receives. These behaviours become the default operating system. Every future hire either reinforces that system or finds themselves working against it.

This dynamic is amplified in cyber because the talent market is small, interconnected, and unusually sensitive to reputation. Word travels quickly. A single poor early hire can create friction that lingers for years, especially if that person influences processes or becomes a bottleneck. Conversely, a single exceptional early hire can elevate the entire function, attracting stronger candidates and accelerating the team’s maturity.

As cyber talent becomes more selective, reputation becomes a competitive advantage. And that reputation is shaped long before most founders realise it. The early cohort sets the trajectory. They determine whether the team becomes known for clarity or confusion, for rigour or inconsistency, for leadership or drift.

If you’re scaling a cyber function this year, the question is how deliberately you are approaching those foundational hires and whether the decisions you make now will support or constrain the team you want to build.

If you want some honest, data-driven advice, book in for a free consultation with us.