REVEALED: The number of employees a firm needs before HR is necessary

HR is crucial for firms as soon as they hit 150 people, according to Silicon Valley investor Marc Andreessen.

Andreessen, who is the co-author of one of the first web browsers and a top investor in Twitter, Facebook and Pintrest, was speaking to entrepreneur and investor Elad Gil for his new book, High Growth Handbook. Business Insider reports that he stressed the importance of a strong HR team for upcoming firms.

"If you don't start layering in HR once you've passed 50 people on your way to 150, something is going to go badly wrong."

"The number of companies in the Valley that put HR off to the side and decided it wasn't important and are now dealing with some level of catastrophe — either a public catastrophe or one that's in the making — that's a pretty high percentage of companies right now,” he said