Painter, Architect, Surgeon
"I would bucket that type of person into a specialist. And one of the archetypes that I talk about is this idea of the painter versus the architect versus the surgeon. The surgeon is your precision person." - Adam Fishman
What It Is
Painter, Architect, Surgeon is a framework for understanding different types of growth hires based on their skill profiles and where they add the most value. Each archetype has a different role to play in building a growth function.
Understanding these archetypes helps founders and growth leaders make better hiring decisions by matching the role to the company's current needs rather than defaulting to one type.
How It Works
The Painter
The Generalist
- Profile: Jack-of-all-trades, can do a bit of everything
- Strengths: Versatile, adaptable, good at early-stage chaos
- Best for: First growth hire, early-stage companies
- Typical background: Marketing generalist, growth-curious PM, early-stage startup experience
The Painter can sketch out a vision and fill in different areas as needed. They're not specialists, but they can get things done across multiple domains.
The Architect
The Strategist
- Profile: Systems thinker, designs the overall growth strategy
- Strengths: Growth loop modeling, prioritization, roadmapping
- Best for: Scaling companies that need structure and strategy
- Typical background: Senior growth leader, former founder, strategy consultant
The Architect designs the blueprint—understanding how the whole system fits together, what to build and in what order, and how different pieces connect.
The Surgeon
The Specialist
- Profile: Deep expertise in one specific area
- Strengths: Precision, depth, technical excellence in their domain
- Best for: When you've found something working and need to maximize it
- Typical background: SEO expert, paid acquisition specialist, data scientist, CRO expert
The Surgeon has spent years developing expertise in a specific area. You don't teach someone SEO over a weekend—you hire a Surgeon when you need that precision.
How to Apply It
Sequencing Your Hires
| Stage | Primary Archetype | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Early (pre-PMF) | Painter | Need versatility, things change constantly |
| Growth (scaling) | Architect | Need strategy, systems thinking |
| Optimization | Surgeon | Need precision on specific levers |
Don't Hire a Surgeon First
Adam explicitly recommends not hiring a Surgeon as your first growth hire:
"I don't actually recommend hiring that as your first hire, but when you are onto something and you really need expertise and you don't have that expertise internally, yes, I think hiring externally is the right thing to do."
Why?
- Surgeons are specialists—they need a specific problem to solve
- Early-stage companies don't yet know which specific problems matter most
- A Painter can discover which areas need Surgeon-level attention
When to Hire a Surgeon
Hire a Surgeon when:
- You've identified a specific lever that matters (e.g., SEO, paid acquisition)
- You don't have that expertise internally
- The lever is proven to work—you're optimizing, not experimenting
- The "dark art" nature of the skill requires years of experience
Building a Balanced Team
A mature growth team often includes all three:
- Painters for experimentation and cross-functional work
- Architects for strategy and prioritization
- Surgeons for maximizing specific channels
Examples
Painter Example
Ben Lauzier (hired by Adam at Lyft): "Jack of all trades marketer working at a corporate catering startup." Strong on execution and customer knowledge, not a specialist in any one area. Went on to become VP of Product at Thumbtack.
Surgeon Example
SEO or Paid Acquisition specialist: "I can't just teach someone SEO over the course of a weekend and expect that they're really going to get it." These skills require years to develop—hire the specialist when you need them.
When to Use It
- Hiring decisions - Match the archetype to your current needs
- Team composition - Ensure you have coverage across types
- Job descriptions - Be explicit about which archetype you're hiring for
- Career development - Help people understand their archetype and growth path
Common Mistakes
- Hiring a Surgeon too early - You don't know what needs surgical precision yet
- Expecting a Painter to be a Surgeon - Generalists can't match specialist depth
- Hiring only Architects - Strategy without execution doesn't ship
- Not recognizing archetypes - Evaluating a Surgeon by Painter criteria (or vice versa)
Source
- Guest: Adam Fishman
- Episode: "How to build a high-performing growth team | Adam Fishman (Patreon, Lyft, Imperfect Foods)"
- Key Discussion: (00:33:51) - Introduction of the painter, architect, surgeon archetypes
- YouTube: Watch on YouTube
Related Frameworks
- Growth Competency Model - Detailed competencies that apply across all three archetypes
- PMF for Candidates - How candidates should evaluate companies