What you get: Whether to hire now, the level, salary band, interview loop and first 90 days. Copy it, fill in the parts in [BRACKETS], and run it in Kriyā or any AI assistant.
The prompt
You are a founder coach. Plan my first product manager hire.
Startup: [STARTUP]
Team today: [TEAM]
City and budget: [BUDGET]
Give:
1. Do I need a PM now? The signs that say yes or not yet
2. The role: what they own, what they do not, and the level (APM, PM, senior PM)
3. Salary band and ESOPs for that level in my city, from the figures below
4. Where to find candidates and the job post (plain words)
5. The interview loop: 4 rounds, what each tests, and one work sample
6. Their first 90 days
Rules:
- Use the India figures listed below and name the source and month next to each one you use.
- If you need a figure that is not listed, write "Assumption:" and give your reasoning instead of a number you cannot source.
- Plain words. Short sections with headings. No filler.
India figures to use (from productgrowth.in/numbers):
- A product manager in India with 2–5 years of experience earns about ₹20–42 LPA in 2026 (Weekday and Masai School guides). Source: https://productgrowth.in/numbers/product-manager-salary-india/
- India had over 2.23 lakh startups recognised by DPIIT as of 31 March 2026 (DPIIT). Source: https://productgrowth.in/numbers/dpiit-startups-india/
Run this in Kriyā →Kriyā opens with this prompt in its box; nothing is sent until you press send. Replace the [BRACKETS] first.
What to fill in
Replace
With
Example (used for the sample answer)
[STARTUP]
Your startup
A B2B logistics software startup, seed stage
[TEAM]
Who you have
2 founders, 6 engineers, 1 designer
[BUDGET]
City and budget
Bengaluru, up to ₹35 lakh a year
The numbers this prompt uses
The prompt carries these figures so the answer starts from dated, sourced numbers instead of guesses. Each page shows the source, the month and the history.
Sample answer from Kriyā, 26 October 2026, for the example inputs above. Kept as it came back; links added beside each figure.
1. Do you need a PM now?
Not yet, if a founder still makes every roadmap call and is happy doing it, you have fewer than ~5 paying customers, and you are still searching for what to build.
Yes, if these are true:
Founders spend 50%+ of their week on specs, tickets and customer calls instead of sales and hiring. Kriyā's estimate
Six engineers are waiting on decisions, or building things that never get used.
You have a repeatable sales motion and need a roadmap that says "no" to one-off customer requests. This is the classic B2B logistics trap: every shipper or 3PL asks for a custom field.
At 6 engineers, a first PM is reasonable. Hiring one before product-market fit is a risk, so decide with a sharp test: if a PM left tomorrow, would customer discovery stop?
2. The role and level
Level: PM with 3–5 years (not APM, not senior). You need someone who can work alone, without a mentor above them. Ideally B2B SaaS, ops or supply-chain software.
Does not own: pricing and contracts (founders), design craft (your designer), engineering estimates (your tech lead), sales roadmap promises.
Reports to: the founder who owns product. No dotted lines.
3. Salary and ESOPs
Market band: a PM with 2–5 years earns about ₹20–42 LPA (Weekday and Masai School guides, 2026; month not given in the figure) [productgrowth.in/numbers/product-manager-salary-india]. Kriyā's estimate
Your budget: ₹35 lakh sits in the upper half of that band, so you can compete for a strong 4-year PM. Kriyā's estimate
Suggested offer: Assumption: ₹28–33 lakh fixed, leaving headroom for a variable of ₹0–2 lakh. I have no sourced figure for seed-stage cash pay versus the band, so I am assuming a discount to larger companies is normal, offset by ESOPs. Kriyā's estimate
ESOPs: Assumption: roughly 0.5–1.0% for a first PM, 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff. There is no sourced ESOP benchmark in the figures provided, so treat this as a negotiating starting point and check it with your lawyer or cap-table tool. Kriyā's estimate
4. Where to find candidates and the job post
Sources:
Founder network and your investors' portfolio founders (best hit rate).
PMs from logistics and supply-chain firms such as Delhivery, Shiprocket, Rivigo-style companies, Locus, Blue Dart tech, or B2B SaaS teams in Bengaluru.
LinkedIn direct messages, Wellfound, and Product Growth communities.
Job post (plain words): > Product Manager, Bengaluru. B2B logistics software, seed stage. > We build software for [who: shippers/3PLs/fleet operators]. We are 9 people. You will be our first PM and work directly with the founders. > You will talk to customers every week, decide what we build next, and write clear specs for 6 engineers. > You have 3–5 years as a PM, ideally in B2B or operations software. You have shipped products used by non-technical business users. > Pay: ₹28–35 lakh plus ESOPs. Reply with one product decision you are proud of and one you would reverse. Kriyā's estimate
5. The interview loop (4 rounds)
Founder conversation (45 min): motivation, B2B experience, comfort with ambiguity and with a small team.
Customer discovery role-play (45 min): you play a warehouse manager; they run a discovery call. Tests listening and questioning.
Work sample (take-home, 3 hours max, paid or capped): give them 3 real customer requests and your current metrics. Ask for a one-page prioritisation: what to build, what to refuse, how to measure it.
Team round with engineers and the designer (45 min): they walk through the work sample. Tests whether engineers would trust them and whether they handle pushback.
6. First 90 days
Days 1–30: talk to 15+ customers and lost deals; shadow sales calls and support; map the current product and data. Deliver a written "what I learned" memo.
Days 31–60: set up 5 core metrics (for example activation, weekly active accounts, shipments processed); run a prioritised backlog; ship one small, visible fix.
Days 61–90: own the next-quarter roadmap, with a clear "not doing" list; run the weekly planning rhythm so founders step out of daily decisions.
Next action: write down the three decisions you want the PM to take off your plate; if you cannot name three, wait a quarter.
Beside each figure: source links the number page it comes from, your input means it came from the example inputs, and Kriyā's estimate marks a figure Kriyā worked out or assumed with no source given; check those before you use them. Your own run will differ.