The A-Team
Five Steps to Build a Strong Startup Team
A version of this post originally appeared on Startingbloc’s newsletter.
When I’m conducting the initial due diligence on a startup, I (of course) always look for a great product that can solve a problem in a large market. But the factor that drives me to say “no” or “I want to learn more” on a potential investment is the team. Teams have been a fundamental tool to drive impact in the global economy for hundreds of years. A very talented team can transform a limited product in a competitive market, into an amazing investment opportunity. On the other had, a bad team can derail the success of a business model with an innovative technology.
So a team is vital to say the least. It is important as founders to be very careful and calculated with who you bring on to your startup. The following are a few steps that I believe will help an entrepreneur build the right startup team. I’ve picked up these tips from the successes some of the startups I advise and from the mistakes that I made as the founder of MERIT (PS don’t just hire your friends).
Step 1: Conduct a self assessment of your strengths and weaknesses
No founder is an island and as I’ve written in the past it is so important to bring on other team members who can fill needs of the company. But you can’t simply just start networking to find an expert in technology or marketing. You first must conduct a self-assessment of yourself to determine what’s your skill set and what are you passionate about doing. The other filter to consider when creating your skill set list is to think about what are you really really good at. As the founder, the areas in which you have a domain expertise will provide you one less thing to find in other teammates. Lastly, you should think about the vision for your startup and what expertise the company going to need to have to make the plan come to fruition. Once you have a good idea of the skills you have and the skill set you need then you can move to the next step which is planning out which positions to recruit for.
Step 2: Prioritize which skills and strengths are needed for the startup
Now that you have a list of experiences and skills you want to obtain in your first hires, you now have to prioritize those needs. This will depend greatly on your experience and strengths as a founder, the stage of your startup, and the industry you are looking to disrupt. Based on those factors you should have a good idea if bringing on a CTO or VP of Product before hiring in Business Development or Marketing. Traditionally for early stage tech startups, the first hire fills a gap in the founder’s background. Therefore, if you are a non-technical founder with industry experience, you probably should hire a CTO or technical Product Manager if your startup has a tech-enabled business. As Fatima, the founder of MyBestBox, recently mentioned in the Women, Work, & Worth podcast, “Everyone is either an Einstein or a da Vinci. Einstein was very depth-oriented…Da Vinci was very breadth-oriented so he did everything from designing the first helicopter to contributing to the fields of music, arts, and mathematics…Academia tends to skew us to thinking that being depth-oriented is what makes you competent. But it’s perfectly ok being a da Vinci as long as you can find Einsteins for the different pillars or the different areas that you’re interested in.” Moral of the story — your first employees should address your weaknesses.
Step 3: Use your network to find vetted candidates that have the strengths you are seeking and have a passion for solving the problem
I have talked to other venture capitalist and they always stress the importance a team for an early stage startup. But, in a recent conversation with a peer in the space, she stressed to me the importance of understanding the history of the team. She said she asks questions such as ‘How did you meet?’ and ‘How long have you worked together?’ This reveals how critical it is that founders leverage their own networks to get warm leads from friends, classmates, and former colleagues. It is really hard to hire for a startup, so it’s important to utilize every advantage to make sure individuals can address needs and contribute positively to your company culture. The best way to get as much information as possible to find people who you have directly worked with or that someone within your network has worked with. Once you have candidates that can be vouched for, you then can ask the right questions to verify they have a passion for solving the problems within your target industry.
Step 4: Have a trial period to determine if the person is a good fit
So you have had a few good conversations with a potential candidate and you are pleased with their answers so far. So you should bring them on right? — not so fast. I would suggest having a trial period between 30–90 days to determine if you all have the right working styles and compliment each other’s strengths. There is no better interview process than some actually doing the work. This trial period could be structured as the candidate becoming an advisor with the potential to become a full-time hire or the candidate could be brought on as a project-based contract worker. No matter the structure, I always suggest that founders are upfront about their expectations and give the candidate a set of projects that are relevant to the needs of the startup. This trial period could determine whether you hire someone who exceeds expectations or hiring someone that derails the progress of the company.
Step 5: Repeat steps 1 through 4 as many times as necessary
Your process won’t be done after bringing on your first hires. At every stage of growth, the startup will face new challenges and will need to address them with new employees. Remember to utilize these steps when deciding which direction to go with bringing on potential candidates. Also, remember you are probably going to make mistakes as a startup founder. It’s not essential that you be perfect when hiring (since it’s not possible unless you are) but it is essential that you learn from those mistakes. Good luck on your startup and it’s potential growth.
Earnest Sweat is an Entrepreneurial Engineer for Camelback Ventures and an Investor in Residence for Backstage Capital. If you have any questions or requests please connect with Earnest through LinkedIn or Twitter.
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