You should have definitely mentioned the company name here. I’m looking for a generalist job right now, for example :)

I will try to summarize best experience and results from both sides.

I wouldn’t even recommend going through the recruiter route. Quality ones are expensive, it would be waste of resources at your stage. Cheap ones don’t do a good job, they are not able to spot what you’re looking for and quick keyword search with “Hi $FirstName, I see you have experience in $Technology” you can do that yourself.
LinkedIn Premium is a good investment though, and it’s worth buying just for the cold outreach (I’m sure people here will disagree, there isn’t a better directory with online CVs, so…).

Definitely create few job postings. Angel job list is good choice as well. If able to hire remotely, remoteok.io and other remote job posting portals aren’t bad at all. Just be prepared for minor spam and more time spent on filtering. Promote a little, but again, I wouldn’t spend a lot on that. The benefit is little to none, and best candidates usually don’t come from these channels.

Cold outreach is the most effective. Make sure the message doesn’t look automated, message is catchy and contains most information upfront and the candidate is looking for a job or atleast open to offers (highest success, of course “happily” employed candidates might also be open to switching). It’s really like sales. Any platform will do. I did few interviews just from comments on HN.

Pay and equity. Well, since it’s a first employee at a risky, even though funded, startup, equity is kinda expected. Bear in mind, this employee will shape your culture, your technology and even your success. There will be overtime whether you want it or not. This #1 employee will be an asset to the company once you start growing. The candidate definitely needs to be onboard with the vision and understand where the company is going. You’re free to hire “code-monkey” (no shame in that, it’s just doesn’t fit into startup sphere) but at that point might as save money and outsource the development to some local sweatshop.
You’re not forced to pay top salary, but be honest with the employee and honest with yourself. I assume you have some financial plan so you know what can you afford to pay. Paying top bucks combined with equity will give you a lot too choose from. Lower the pay, the pool gets smaller but you filter for people who aren’t in just for the money, but believe in the company and that will reflect in their equity %. Best is somewhere between the middle or top. Don’t cheap out on them unless this is the way you want to move forward.

Who to hire? I’m in the opinion that you should hire for the potential and broad knowledge, not specific skills. Generalists, in my opinion, are much more useful employees than specialists. Atleast at the start.

How to hire? Have a friendly discussion about everything that you, or the company, has interest in. Get the candidates opinions, experience, struggles and in the end you will just know. Don’t rush it.

HN monthly threads about who wants to be hire and who is hiring are worth keeping and eye on.

By the way, if you ping me on twitter or LI, I’m happy to chat more. If you’re going the remote route, I would be interested to know what you’re looking for right now.