Particularly in a startup company, the biggest priority is to find the right candidates and make sure they have a good chemistry. Building a team is very difficult, and getting the team to work together is also tough. CEOs and executives routinely talk about how important this is... but how many of us have cut corners in the hiring process and have failed to call references, check out background and really invest the time up front to ensure that the person we're hiring is the right person for the job / the team / the particular culture of the company?

If you get this right, you just don't have to worry about the firing part.