I think you'll be making a mistake by trying to grow the team to 8 or 15 people without hiring any additional management staff. Maybe the business is stable and

I think you'll be making a mistake by trying to grow the team to 8 or 15 people without hiring any additional management staff. Maybe the business is stable and running itself, but managing a tech team of 8 is already a full-time job. This is especially true given the following statements you made: "I have always wanted to be a TL, so I’m not willing to let an external manager own my team. But I have never been promoted to TL in previous companies, since I’m not a naturally gifted “people” person (former anger/frustration issues, difficulty not having anger when obviously the provider is using bait and switch, etc.)" The latter statement speaks for itself -- a people manager who isn't in control of their own emotions is a huge risk as far as growing a healthy team. But the former statement also suggests that you're going to have control issues and issues delegating to your team. I would suggest looking for a mentor/coach/advisor who is an experienced people manager. They will help you understand what you don't know that you don't know about management right now, and hopefully be able to convince you that your strategy of being a CEO with 15 direct reports (my interpretation of your statement "I’m not willing to let an external manager own my team") is a mistake. Consider growing the team to perhaps 5-7 people under your direct management, then hiring (or promoting from within the team) a tech lead / manager (someone with people management experience, but who is still hands-on).