Scope: budget, headcount, decision rights
Answer the question senior candidates ask before comp: what do I actually control.
First Round Review's Shopify VPE framework centers decision rights and budget as the deciding factor for senior operators, above title.
- Engineering budget this hire owns, in dollars
- Headcount they hire and manage in the first year, with a number
- The specific decisions they make alone versus the ones they bring to the founder
- Vague phrases like 'significant autonomy' with no specifics
- Org chart minutiae below the direct reports
- Founder hesitates when asked what decisions the hire makes without sign-off
- Budget number changes when asked twice
- Promising full autonomy verbally while the deck shows every decision routing through the founder
- · Can you name the exact dollar budget without checking a spreadsheet?
- · Is there at least one decision category this hire owns with no founder sign-off?
Budget: $[X] engineering budget for year one. Headcount: hires and manages [N] people by month [M]. Decisions: owns [specific decisions] outright, brings [specific decisions] to the founder.
"You'll have a lot of ownership and real autonomy to run things your way."
"Budget: $1.2M engineering budget for year one. Headcount: hires and manages 10 engineers by month 12, growing the team from 9 to 19. Decisions: owns hiring, architecture, and vendor selection outright; brings headcount increases above plan and comp bands to the founder."
Nimbus example: exact budget figure, headcount trajectory with numbers, and a clear split of decision rights.
Quick quiz
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