Four Years, Four Lessons: Lessons in Building CORE
On hiring captains, calling babies ugly, and building CORE
Four years ago, I joined Lumos as the first business hire. No product. No revenue. Just seven people, a dream, and a blank Notion page. Well - technically dozens of half-started docs floating in the early waves of our Notion ocean… but that’s a story for another day.
Today, Lumos is 130+ strong. We’ve built real momentum, launched functions from scratch, and solved problems I couldn’t have imagined on day one. But when I think about this journey, it’s not just about scale - it’s about stretch.
Every stage of growth asked something different of me. They only way I’ve kept up? The people I’ve hired.
So to mark my four year anniversary, it only feels right to share the 4 lessons I’ve learned as CORE’s leader. A true nerd 🤓 at heart, I like to hire people from whom I’ll learn. And my reports have not disappointed.
Lesson #1: Trust people to lead (then get out of the way)
When our Head of People Katie joined, I told her she could have one resource. I’d assumed she’d want an HR Business Partner. Thinking I was the best manager, I basically built the case and served it to her on a Notion platter. NOPE. Instead, she spent her first 30 days deepening her understanding of where Lumos was, where we needed to go, and then oh so politely told me, “That’s not the right solution, we actually need something different. A People Ops partner who could own systems, execution, and operational rigor.”
It wasn’t the direction I expected but she was right. Like 10x right.
She didn’t take my idea as a prescribed solution. She created her own, rooted in the right outcomes, and led with clarity from day one.
Hire captains of their ship - and don’t steer for them, or they can’t lead.
Lesson #2: Hire to be Humbled (in the best way)
I am not an Engineer. I am our token SWE0. But I am data-obsessed.
Hiring our Head of Data with the perfect blend of Data Engineering/Analysis/Science/insert-buzzword-here was admittedly one of tougher experiences. I was miles outside of my comfort zone. I figured my biggest learnings would be throughout the hiring process - including how to ask peers for help. Wrong.
Clay joined and rewrote every playbook - including how to accept a job offer (apparently, it’s from the ski slopes 🏂)
Early on, he told me a goal was to never hire analysts. And he wasn’t joking. 4 months in, he has a GPT-powered model that lets anyone at Lumos self-serve data - no SQL experience needed, no barriers to access, just direct insights. Never would I have thought of that. I would have followed more obvious routes, not reimagined the problem entirely and delivered something smarter. Once I got over my imposter syndrome, I realized my role as his manager wasn’t to shadow his work—it was to align on principles and goals, dive deep when needed, and then quickly come back up to unblock where necessary.
It’s ok to not know everything - that’s why you hire experts. Let it push you to learn, stretch as a leader, and explore beyond the obvious.
Lesson #3: Call my baby ugly (just not my real baby. He’s perfect)
After 4 years, I’m known for the infamous line Call my baby ugly. Though in the last year it’s been updated with a very important modifier you can’t call my real baby, Tadhg, ugly. Then we’re going to have some problems #mamabear.
It might sound harsh but here’s the truth: what worked at 30 people doesn’t always work at 130. And if you’re scaling right, some of your proudest systems will eventually become blockers.
In our newest member, Peter’s first 2 weeks as our Head of Finance, he came in, took a look at processes I had built back in our scrappy Series A days, and immediately asked: “Wait.. why are we still doing it this way?” and if he could immediately restructure our Finance Dropbox folder structure. My cheeks have never been so red from embarrassment - and he was dead right.
At first, there’s always a flicker of discomfort when someone rebuilds your work. But that’s exactly why you hired them. If change isn’t happening, growth isn’t either. Tadhg’s most obvious signs of growth are when we literally have to decommission that favorite onesie because the clasps won’t close anymore. It’s hard to let it go, but if it no longer fits, in the words of Marie Kondo, it’s time to thank it for it’s service and let it go.
Letting go isn’t a sign of failure. It’s a sign of growth.
Lesson #4: Build the foundation first (then add the floors)
To this day, our now Programs and Ops specialist, Elise, holds the record for most hats worn at Lumos 🎩 Over 3.5 years, she’s gone from Lumos’ Founding Talent Sourcer to a key part of the GTM engine…with a quick pit stop as Pitbull.
Her story is what I joined a startup to coauthor. Being a manager isn’t about telling people what to do and checking of the weekly 1:1s. It’s about deeply understanding your reports - their interests, strengths, and stretch zones - and looking out for relevant opportunities that align with business needs. Maybe even those they wouldn’t have seen themselves.
Since the beginning, she’s always wanted more - never chasing scope for the sake of it. We’ve had open conversations about when it was time to stretch, when to stabilize, and when to dive into the deep end. And I’ve never put her on something “just because you’re here.” Ok maybe once, but in my defense, my idea of cool swag was “cheugy”. Other than that, every project, workstream, or mission has been intentional with clear alignment between her skills, our business needs, and opportunities for learning. We’ve had conversations around “what good looks like”, prioritizing depth, second-order thinking, and delivering excellence over breadth. And with each milestone, her scope expanded and company impact multiplied.
Sustainable growth doesn’t come from endlessly chasing more. It comes from doing what matters really well - and then building up from there.
Year 5 means Lesson #5
What that’ll be is for our two future additions to say. Our Head of Rev Ops and Head of Talent.
I know what they’ll be owning. But no idea what lessons they’ll bring. That’s the exciting part.
Every great hire I’ve made at Lumos has had one thing in common: they’ve challenged my thinking. That’s why you join high growth startups - that’s how you grow.
The next chapter of the CORE team’s growth isn’t just about adding capacity. It’s about adding perspective, challenge, and fresh ways of thinking. The best hires always surprise you - and I can’t wait to meet whoever does.
So here’s my not so subtle recruiting plug:
If you want to scale with imagination, build with heart, and be surrounded by people who will stretch you in all the best ways - come work with us!
 | A guest post by
|