How should a startup founder handle firing someone?

The Mochary Method ('Firing Well') recommends: 1) Start with empathy — recognize this is devastating for the person. 2) Become their agent — actively help them find their next role by discovering their passions, writing endorsements, and making introductions. 3) Provide real severance (3+ months minimum). 4) Use a structured conversation script that's direct but compassionate. 5) Announce to the company with transparency, praising the person's contributions and taking responsibility yourself.

How much severance should a startup give when firing someone?

According to the Mochary Method, two months is the absolute minimum, but three months or more is the realistic standard. The severance should give the person enough time to actually find another job. If you want to save resources, help them find that next job more quickly through active job-search assistance — acting as their agent, posting endorsements, and making introductions.

How do you announce a termination to the rest of the team?

Make a transparent company-wide announcement (or let the departing person do it). Never blame or criticize the person — praise their contributions and take ownership of the situation yourself. Then schedule 1-on-1s with each team member shortly after, directly asking if they feel fear or anger about the change. Let them fully express their feelings and reflect them back. This prevents organizational trauma from festering.

Why does firing well improve company culture?

Four compounding benefits: 1) Your remaining team feels safe knowing they'll be treated with dignity if things don't work out, allowing them to perform better. 2) Your Glassdoor reviews improve, making your company more attractive to candidates and raising offer acceptance rates. 3) You can take bolder risks in hiring (people with high potential but little experience) because the downside is humane. 4) You'll act faster on underperformance because you won't dread the firing process.

What should you say when firing someone?

The Mochary Method script: 1) 'This will be a difficult conversation. You will likely feel sadness, anger, and fear.' 2) 'I am letting you go. This decision is not changeable.' 3) Explain why, and what you did to create the situation. 4) 'I will be your agent in finding your next job. I'm giving you X months severance.' 5) 'Today is your last day — to minimize lingering sadness.' 6) 'Would you be willing to share your thoughts with me?' Then listen and reflect back what they say.

How to Fire Well: The Mochary Method for Letting People Go Without Destroying Your Culture (2025)

Firing Is the Skill Nobody Teaches Founders

Every startup founder will eventually need to let someone go. It's one of the hardest things you'll do — and one of the most consequential. Get it wrong, and you traumatize the person, terrify your remaining team, and damage your company's reputation for years. Get it right, and you actually strengthen your culture, your hiring process, and your performance management.

Matt Mochary — executive coach to the CEOs of Coinbase, Notion, Brex, and dozens of other top startups — developed a framework called "Firing Well" that transforms this dreaded process into something humane, effective, and even beneficial.

The Core Principle

"If you learn how to fire well, you benefit from a happier culture, a bolder hiring process, and a much more effective performance management system."

— Matt Mochary

Step 1: Put Yourself in Their Shoes

Being fired is devastating — emotionally and financially. Before you do anything tactical, start with empathy. This isn't just the right thing to do; it's strategic. Your entire team is watching how you treat people on their way out. A vindictive attitude makes everyone feel unsafe.

⚠️ The Anger Trap

When you fire someone, you will almost certainly feel anger. You'll think:

"This person is a liability. I don't ever want to be associated with them again."

"I don't want to give them an extra penny. I want to save those resources for the team that's actually performing."

Feel this anger, and then let it pass. Recognize that your recruiting, training, and management helped create this situation. It's your responsibility to help the person find a job and a better fit.

Step 2: Become Their Agent

This is the most counterintuitive — and most powerful — part of the Mochary Method. Instead of just writing a check and showing them the door, actively help the departing person find their next role.

Interview them to discover their ideal role

This person didn't have the skills or behaviors you needed — but they have passions. Find out what those passions are. Behind those passions are likely excellent skills. Help them determine what role would be a great fit — it may not even be in the business world.

Match their ideal against real available roles

Cross-reference their passions and skills against actual roles in the market. What would their dream job be? Then do exactly what a talent agent does: find it for them.

Write a description of their talents and post it publicly

With their permission, post a written endorsement on LinkedIn and Twitter. Ask interested employers to contact the person directly. Your public endorsement of someone you let go sends an incredibly powerful signal about your company's culture.

Offer a strategic recommendation at the right moment

Mochary has found that a personal message of endorsement works one time — it usually moves the candidate to the next stage. You can use it to get them an interview, or save it for after the first interview to help land the job. The latter is more valuable.

Step 3: Provide Real Severance

Give them a severance package that provides enough time to actually find another job. This isn't charity — it's a strategic investment in your culture.

📋 Severance Guidelines

2 mo

Absolute minimum

3+ mo

Realistic standard

Then help them
find work within
that timeframe

Severance begins upon: transferring key information back to the company and signing offboarding documents.

Step 4: Have the Conversation

The actual termination conversation needs to be direct, empathetic, and structured. Here's Mochary's exact script:

The Termination Script

OPEN WITH WARNING

"This will be a difficult conversation. You will likely feel sadness, anger, and fear."

STATE THE DECISION

"I am letting you go. This decision is not changeable."

EXPLAIN WHY

"This is why... Here is what I did to create this situation."

OFFER HELP

"I am going to help you in the following ways. I will be your agent in finding your next job. I am giving you [X] months severance."

SET THE TIMELINE

"Today is your last day. The reason is that it minimizes the time everyone lingers in the sadness of saying goodbye. The remainder of today is hopefully enough time to say your goodbyes."

INVITE THEIR RESPONSE

"After hearing this, I imagine you are feeling anger, fear, and sadness. Would you be willing to share your thoughts with me?"

Critical: Repeat back what they share with you. This helps reduce their anger from dangerous levels. Don't defend, don't argue — just listen and reflect.

Step 5: Announce to the Company

Any organizational change causes trauma to the team. Transparency is essential — both for the departing person's dignity and for the remaining team's psychological safety.

Make a company-wide announcement (or let the person do it)

DO NOT blame or criticize the person. Instead, praise their contributions and take ownership yourself. Either you didn't evaluate well during recruiting, or you didn't onboard and train well. Take responsibility publicly.

Schedule 1-on-1s with each team member shortly after

These can be regularly scheduled 1-on-1s. The key is that each manager directly asks each report: "Do you feel fear or anger about this change?" If yes, let them fully release their thoughts and feelings.

Give each person a chance to release their fear or anger

When someone shares their feelings, reflect them back. Don't dismiss, minimize, or explain. Making people feel heard is the fastest way to reduce organizational trauma.

Why "Firing Well" Pays for Itself

The benefits of this approach compound in ways most founders don't expect:

🏗️ Happier Culture

When your remaining team sees that departing employees are treated with dignity and helped to land on their feet, they feel safe. Safe employees perform better. This alone is worth the cost of severance.

⭐ Better Glassdoor Reviews

News of how you treat people spreads fast. Your Glassdoor reviews will rise, making your company a more desirable place to work. Your offer acceptance rate will go up dramatically.

🎯 Bolder Hiring

If you and your team know you have a humane approach to letting people go, you can take more risks during recruiting. Hire people with great potential but little experience — those often end up being the best performers.

⚡ Faster Action on Underperformance

You'll let underperformers go sooner because you won't dread the trauma of the firing process. There will be no trauma. This alone dramatically improves team performance.

Take Responsibility, Then Fix the System

After the person has left, turn inward. Ask yourself:

🔄 The Post-Firing Retrospective

Recruiting: What signals did I miss? What questions should I have asked? Did I hire for potential or just pedigree?

Onboarding: Did I set this person up for success? Did they have clear expectations, the right training, and adequate support?

Management: Did I give timely, honest feedback? Did I address problems early, or let them fester until termination was the only option?

Process: What can I change in my systems so this doesn't happen again?

Every termination is a failure of the system — not just the person. The best founders treat each one as a learning opportunity to make their recruiting, onboarding, and management processes stronger.

🚀 Build Your Team with Confidence

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