Why Indie Founders Need HR More Than Ever (and its not what you think)
Most industries are going through something brutal right now.
Not the fun kind. The kind where talented businesses with great ideas simply cannot break through or worse, implode before their product even launches.
If you’re an indie founder, you already know the odds are stacked against you. But here’s what might surprise you: the biggest threat isn’t your marketing budget, product ownership or networking.. Its how you manage your people.
HR is no longer a “nice to have” for small businesses, it’s now “make or break”.
The Markets are Changing
I appreciate this isn’t new information, so lets get to the point.
With economic uncertainty, rising costs, labour shortages and regulatory compliance knocking at every businesses door, its making it increasingly difficult for businesses to compete yet the need to deliver a polished competitive experiences have never been higher.
The Hidden Killer: People Problems
Here’s what we’ve seen time and time again. A founder has a brilliant concept, a talented team and just enough budget and time to ship their product.
Then:
A key team member burns out mid project and quits
Scope creep rears its head leaving the team fractured over unclear priorities
There isn't the right skill sets in the team to deliver the ambition meaning unforeseen costs to outsource
Pressures mount and relationships turn sour due to budget, time and quality constraints
Decision making accountabilities are unclear causing a loss of momentum and autonomy
Milestones are missed meaning late payments which lead to delays in paying wages and ultimately unhappy teams
Any one of these can sink a small business. Combined? They're catastrophic and they're all preventable with the right HR foundations.
Why HR Matters Now More Than Ever
The Right People, In the Right Place, At the Right Time
We all know someone who has sadly been made redundant, and it's increasing across all industries making top talent both scarred and skittish. They're cautious about joining unproven businesses and they've got options.
Get your recruitment and talent strategy right the first time and PLEASE don't just hire your mates (this can come with a whole world of pain and ethical issues). Finding the right person, that you can afford, and on the right contract, can literally help you to deliver on time, to quality and within budget. Wing it, and you'll either miss great candidates or promote a very expensive mistake.
Retention is Your Competitive Advantage
Once you've built the dream team, keep them (if you can afford to). This isn't fluffy culture talk about cookies in the kitchen, its survival.
Replacing people is expensive, disruptive and takes up far too much time. You need systems that monitor burnout, create growth opportunities despite limited budgets, fair compensation, and psychologically safe environments so problems surface and don't get buried.
An aligned resilient team pulling in the same direction is gold.
Compliance Risks are Real
Have you heard of IR35? A misclassified employee / contractor can result in unexpected fines and back taxes. Are you aware that there are greater responsibilities on employers to train their teams on anti-harassment and fraud prevention?
Look, its not the cool stuff, but it is part of running a business in the UK. Expert HR knowledge keeps you on the right side of employment law whether its employment status, working time rules, discrimination protections and/or data privacy.
Culture is Your Biggest Power Play
You can't outspend or out market every competitor. But the culture you create could be your sustainable advantage. Your ability to move fast, take creative risks and retain people who care deeply about the work. Companies with strong cultures see up to 21% higher profitability and up to 60% less turnover.
My controversial / not controversial view: Culture is a symptom, not the cause. Its created through the accumulation of a thousand tiny moments: how you respond to a missed deadline, whether you reply to slack messages at 10pm at night, how you handle someone's mistake, the tone of your code reviews and what happens when someone in the team is struggling.
Every decision, every bit of feedback given (or not given), your choice of transparency or silence, creates the lived experience of what its like to work at your business. Its not cliché words on a wall, it has to be built intentionally.
What Lite HR Looks Like
We get that you don't need a full time HR department, you need lite HR solutions that helps to balance staying compliant, building a culture and avoiding preventable disasters:
Practical templates for contracts, onboarding and wellbeing
Strategic alignment of your people plan that matches your businesses ambition
Support that scales as you grow from 2 to 10 to 30 people
A human first approach that actually fits how creative teams work
Constructive, ethical feedback that holds you to account rather than being stuck in your own echo chamber
Precisely what Gathr specialises in. We work with indie founders in gaming, tech and beyond who need scalable foundations without the tired old cliches. No unnecessary paperwork, no disconnected initiatives, just practical support that grows with your business.
The Bottom Line
In a market where revenue is flat and costs are rising, you can't afford amateur-hour people management.
When 30% - 60% of your business cost is people cost. Can you really afford to get it wrong?
Ready to build people foundations that actually work for your studio? We'd love to chat about how Gathr Studio can help. Visit gathrstudio.co.uk or get in touch.