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B-Players: The Silent Startup Killers Nobody Warns You About

avoid hiring b-players, an AI idea targeting boomers, and a workout that will make you look a psycho at your local park

Author

Morgan Tate
March 21, 2025

Hot take incoming: I'd rather hire a C player than a B player.

Why? Because it's easy to see the value of a C player. B players, on the other hand, are like gym memberships—they're exciting when you first sign up, become mediocre over time, and then require an act of Congress to get rid of them.

Now, when you employ 6,840 people like DocuSign (yes, that's actually how many people work at DocuSign lol) — you can afford to have thousands of B players. It's actually impossible to only hire A players at that size.

But just like staying in a relationship "because they're really nice," this is not only unfair to them — it's unfair to you.

For companies with fewer than 5 people (most startups and small businesses) — B players are the silent killer to your business. Here's why:

  • They Create False Security: B players do just enough to keep their position, making it hard to justify replacing them. They're not bad enough to fire but never good enough to drive real growth—leaving you stuck in a cycle of mediocrity.

  • They Drain Resources: In my experience, B players lack the motivation to solve problems independently. This leads to wasted hours coaching them, fixing their mistakes, or falling into the common trap of "I'll just do this task—it's easier than teaching you"—all while A players pick up the slack.

  • They Lower Standards: Culture is contagious and this "good enough" mentality brings down the performance of the entire team. Worse, B players repel A players—who know they'll have to pick up the slack.

In early-stage companies, every hire needs to deliver 10× the cost of their salary in company value. When you give them equity, this becomes a win-win. Your first five hires must have an owner's mentality and intuition (A players). The middle ground is where momentum dies.

The common advice is "hire fast, fire faster." While there's no hard science to this, I've found the best method is trusting my gut.

Remember: in the early stages, a small team of A players will outperform a larger team of B players every single time.

friday fitness

Give these workouts a try this weekend.

at-home workout:

Complete 4 rounds:

  • 40 mountain climbers (total)

  • 15 diamond push-ups

  • 20 squat jumps

  • 30 bicycle crunches (total)

  • 45-second wall sit

Rest 60 seconds between rounds

gym workout

  • 4x8 deadlifts (work-up to a heavy final set)

  • 3x12 bench press

  • 4x10 pull-ups

  • Finisher: AMRAP in 5 minutes:

    • 10 box jumps

    • 5 clean and press

outdoor workout

The below is going to make you look like a psycho - but those tend to be the best workouts anyway.

Complete 3 rounds:

  • Run 300m

  • 15 box jumps (using park bench)

  • 10 tricep dips on bench

  • 20 walking lunges

  • Bear crawl 20m

  • 10 broad jumps

Rest 2 minutes between rounds

tweet of the week

Validation for my essay (rant?) at the top of this newsletter

my plugs