Stepping into a new leadership role at a startup is exciting, but let’s be honest, it’s also intense.
Whether you’re joining as a CMO, CRO, or Head of Growth, your first 90 days aren’t just about getting up to speed. They’re about setting the tone, winning trust, and building the foundations for long-term impact. And in fast-paced startup environments, those first few weeks often carry more weight than the rest of the year.
At Hirehoot, we work with senior GTM leaders and growth-stage startups every day. We’ve seen what helps new CXOs succeed and what causes even brilliant hires to struggle. So we put together this practical guide to help you land with confidence and lead with clarity.
One of the biggest mistakes we see? Waiting until Day 1 to start the real work.
In reality, your success begins much earlier during the hiring process. Before you accept any offer, you need to understand:
Too often, these conversations get skipped. But they matter. Clarity upfront saves a lot of friction later on.
That’s why, on Hirehoot, we help leaders uncover this kind of context before they step into a new role so both sides are aligned from the start.
In your first month, your job isn’t to fix everything. It’s to understand the landscape.
This means deep listening to the founders, your team, the product org, the customers. Ask honest, open-ended questions. What’s working? What’s broken? Where’s the tension? What are the unspoken dynamics?
Start building strong relationships with the people you’ll be working closest with. Trust doesn’t happen overnight, but it starts with consistency and curiosity. Resist the urge to “prove” yourself right away: your presence, mindset, and questions are already being noticed.
Once you’ve absorbed enough insight, it’s time to bring some structure.
This is when you start outlining priorities and identifying a few early wins: small improvements that show progress without causing disruption. Maybe it’s aligning sales and marketing messaging, fixing a reporting gap, or improving the handoff between functions. Wins like these help build momentum and credibility.
More importantly, this is when you begin shaping your longer-term strategy. You don’t need all the answers yet but you do need a clear sense of where you’re headed and why.
By now, you’re not “the new hire” anymore, you’re the leader!
In this phase, it’s time to share your roadmap, get buy-in from founders and teams, and launch key initiatives. Start formalising communication rhythms. Set goals, clarify responsibilities, and empower your team to move forward with confidence.
This is also when storytelling becomes a core part of your role. The way you explain your vision, progress, and decisions to the board, your team, and your peers will shape how you’re perceived as a leader.
Even experienced executives can fall into some common traps early on. Things like:
And perhaps this is the biggest one: underestimating the cultural side of leadership. At startups, relationships and trust are everything.
At Hirehoot, we’ve reimagined leadership hiring for fast-growing startups. We focus exclusively on commercial leadership roles in sales, marketing, and growth and we know what matters most for success.
We don’t just connect you with jobs. We help you discover roles that fit your leadership style, your pace, your ambition and we make sure you have the right insight before you walk through the door.
Our platform is private, curated, and built with busy executives in mind. You stay in control of your visibility and conversations. And every opportunity is vetted for real alignment.
Whether you’re actively looking or just open to the right move, Hirehoot is where smart GTM leaders land their next role with purpose.
The first 90 days are your chance to build trust, set direction, and show who you are as a leader. Not with bold promises, but with clarity, intent, and connection.
If you’re thinking about your next step or want to explore opportunities quietly we’d love to support you.
Apply to join Hirehoot and explore how we help companies hire better, and how we can help you land, lead, and grow from day one.
