5 Steps to a Badass Startup Team

1, 2, 3, 4… if only it was as easy as counting to 5

As a co-founder, building a badass startup team will not only be one of your first challenges, but also the most important one to get right. Here are some of the tidbits we learned while forming our current, and (I think) extremely badass, team.

1. Identify your Weaknesses

The team has to start with me, myself, and I. We mean this in the most humble of ways. The reality is that nobody is going to put in more blood, sweat, and tears to execute your vision than you–although great team members may get close. Remember, in the wise words of Mark Suster,

“Shit happens. Great teams handle adversity better.”

…That being said, it is vital that you do enough self reflection to understand what your strengths and weaknesses are, and select your team members accordingly.

If your ability to develop a MVP ends at paper cutouts, or if you can’t sell a banana to a monkey, you know exactly which holes in your team need plugging. Targeting people that compliment your strengths and prop up your weaknesses is paramount.

2. Do the Job First

We have also found it to be tremendously valuable to do (or in some cases, try poorly to do…) the job you are trying to fill. If it is a technical or highly specialized position that you have no hope of doing, the next best thing is to talk to an expert in the field who can relay to you what important skills and characteristics they would look for in potential applicants. Hell, if you get a good vibe from the expert, offer them a job!

What do you have to lose?

The goal is to be able to identify what characteristics and qualities are the most important for getting the job done. If you can build a team in which everyone is more efficient than you are at doing the tasks you don’t do well or don’t enjoy doing, you win.

3. Go Big or Go Home

Don’t be afraid to try and catch the big fish. If you are a little nervous talking to someone in your field because they are so talented and successful, and you feel a little like a seven-year-old approaching Michael Jordan in 1996 for an autograph, you are probably talking to the right person. You want them on your team!

Just like most things in life, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by making yourself a little uncomfortable and taking a chance in recruiting your team members. Having the guts (you can fake it ‘til you make it) to approach the big fish shows just how confident you are in your idea, and increases your chances of landing that dream team.

Chances are if you can get a rockstar excited about your startup and vision, you’re doing it right. Success here boosts your chances of locking down investors, and the ever important customers/users, are probably pretty high.

4. Feel the Passion

The most important interview questions you can ask is:

What are you passionate about?

The answers to this question may be incredibly illuminating. Does their answer align well with the vision, the passion, and the culture of your startup? If not, don’t waste your time. Your goal, especially in the early days while building your core team, is to find people who share your passion and are excited about the vision of your startup.

Ask interviewees how invested (read: committed) they would like to be to your company on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being all cash compensation and 10 being equity or stock options. You are looking for the ones who answer with a hearty 5 or higher. We believe it is hugely important for employees to buy into your vision, and offering company equity is key. Nothing drives motivation and hard work like ownership; ownership of the task at hand and potential adversity, but also the ownership of success.

5. An Independent Streak is Key

It is important to seek out team members who are adults and are capable of acting as such. At times, every member of your team will be a project manager. After all, startups are inherently chaos. The ability to work independently is a must. Sure, you’ll be involved as your baby grows, but you only have so much time in a day. Avoid an early stroke and hire team members that are self-driven, competent, and badass. You need to be able to free yourself up to spend 50% of your time managing your startup, 50% of your time talking to customers, and the other 50% selling your brand and preparing the universe for your idea (yes, I know math)!

Lastly, this isn’t 1960 and you aren’t selling life insurance (most likely). Having some fun and building the kind of company culture people can get excited about is key to both recruiting badass team members as well as keeping them. You are more than likely going to be asking a lot from your team at times. Whenever possible, try to make work something people are looking forward to. Building a badass team is no good if you can’t retain them.

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