I think you shouldn't hire him, but your reasoning is somehow wrong. Early stage startups require decision-making on the spot, daily. If the guy isn't there, he

I think you shouldn't hire him, but your reasoning is somehow wrong. Early stage startups require decision-making on the spot, daily. If the guy isn't there, he'll be out out the loop and you'll be frustrated. So the reason not to hire lies in logistics. Now, about passion and culture... I don't know if this is your first ride, but you probably know that business models and products change. I personally joined a startup which was building brain-training mobile app. Half a year later we were doing marketing automation for recruiters. I think few of the founders have passion for the product, they have passion for building things, or for making their equity worth millions. So you've got to look for employees who like building things, rather than excited about your product.