Founders: Before Your First People – A Small-Group Hiring Workshop in Palma
Your first hires can change everything. Make sure it’s for the right reasons.
On Wednesday 25 November 2026, founder and business designer Faye Pressly hosts an intimate, practical workshop in Palma for entrepreneurs preparing to bring their first people into their businesses.
Whether you’re building something from scratch, working with a handful of freelancers or already managing a small team, this session is designed to help you make better hiring decisions before expensive mistakes happen.
With 18 years of experience running and scaling companies, including close to 1,000 hires, Faye shares the lessons she wishes she’d known before making her own first hires.
And with just six places available, this isn’t another business talk where you sit, listen and leave with a notebook full of ideas you’ll never use. It’s a working session built around the actual businesses in the room.
💡 Who Is This Workshop For?
This session is designed for founders and entrepreneurs who:
- Are preparing to make their first hire but aren’t sure where to start.
- Are juggling everything themselves and wondering what to delegate first.
- Already work with freelancers or a small team and want to grow more sustainably.
- Want to understand how to choose the right people, not just the most impressive CV.
- Have experienced the frustration of hiring someone capable but struggling to make the working relationship succeed.
You don’t need to have a vacancy ready. Just bring the business you’re building and the questions keeping you up at night.
🧠 What You’ll Learn
Throughout the morning, Faye will explore some of the most important decisions founders face when building their first team.
The workshop covers:
- Who to hire first: Understanding whether your business needs an employee, freelancer, specialist or right-hand person.
- Defining the role: Identifying what someone should actually take responsibility for, rather than trying to squeeze three jobs into one.
- Choosing the right person: Looking beyond chemistry, confidence and an impressive CV.
- Pay and expectations: Approaching compensation, responsibilities and working arrangements before making an offer.
- Setting people up for success: What new team members really need during their first weeks.
- Recognising problems early: Spotting a mismatch and addressing it before it becomes an expensive, time-consuming mistake.
The focus is on practical decisions you can apply directly to your own business, with space for questions and individual challenges.
🌿 A Different Approach to Growing a Business
Faye’s approach draws inspiration from the intelligence of living systems, looking at how businesses can grow with greater clarity, structure and less unnecessary pressure.
Rather than treating people and companies as machines to optimise, she explores what founders and their teams need to develop and work well together.
Expect thoughtful conversations, practical exercises and a supportive environment where learning doesn’t have to feel overwhelming.
📖 What You’ll Take Home
Alongside greater clarity about your next hiring decision, each participant receives an exclusive copy of the Phyli Notes on First People.
This eight-page, printed and numbered publication covers hiring, pay and the first weeks of working together, accompanied by a personal letter and a small signed piece from Faye.
With only six participants, each copy is one of six.
The ticket also includes workshop materials and something good to eat.
👩💼 Meet Faye Pressly
Faye Pressly is a business designer working with founders of beautiful brands to create companies that function as thoughtfully as the products and experiences they offer.
Her work spans organisational structure, roles, culture, decision-making, working rhythms and compensation.
With nearly two decades of experience inside growing companies, including ten years as COO and close to 1,000 hires, she brings a practical understanding of what it takes to build and lead teams.
Based between Palma and London, Faye is also the author of the forthcoming Phyli Founding Manuscript, a twelve-volume exploration of growing companies, scheduled for publication in 2027.
Discover more at phyli.studio/faye.
📍 Good to Know
📅 Date: Wednesday 25 November 2026
🕥 Time: 10:30–13:00
📍 Location: Private venue in Palma, Mallorca. Exact address provided after registration.
💶 Price: €95 per person
🎟️ Availability: Strictly limited to six participants
🥐 Included: Workshop, refreshments/food, materials and an exclusive printed copy of the Phyli Notes on First People
👩💼 Host: Faye Pressly · Phyli Studio
📋 Booking: Advance registration required here. A waitlist will open if all six places are booked.
Cancellation policy: Tickets are transferable to another person. Refunds are available if your place can be filled from the waitlist; otherwise tickets are non-refundable.
