Chapter Six - the right founder and the right team
by marufjony · 42 things on Twos
- The average early stage investor reacted the most to the founding team
- Education, experience, track record
- Investors would rather invest in an A team with a C product then the other way around
- People + Execution = Success
- Notice that there is no mention of a great product
- Investors are counting on the startup team to make money for the business by executing on the plan
- Nobody can speak to investors like a founder
- Founders must take on three key responsibilities
- Founders must be leaders
- Inspire possible team members to join the company
- Founders must be comfortable with risk
- Anyone who has founded a company who has not quit their day job is a wantrepreneur, not an entrepreneur
- Risk breeds creativity and confidence
- Set the values of the company and shape the company culture
- Values are things you are not willing to compromise on if you get in a conflict over them
- Founders must have a vision and communicate it clearly to internal and external teams
- Create a roadmap that gets the product from vision to market
- Communicate that vision to everyone, including investors
- Energy and enthusiasm
- Vision is the most important part of the founders journey
- Your startups first hires
- It's impossible to wear every hat
- For your company to grow you will need to assemble a team to carry our your companies vision
- It also proves to seed stage investors that you're not the only one that believes in your vision
- Mediocre people at a big company don't kill the company. A mediocre hire in the first five will kill the company.
- Know thyself and know who else you will need on your team
- Make a list of your strengths and then determine what things are missing that you will need for key hires
- Each new hire is the opportunity to make your startup stronger
- The first 100 hires typically come from referrals. Have them go through your interview process regardless.
- Hire slow, fire fast
- Plan for your hiring needs 12-18 months in advance
- Budget for 6 months to make a new hire
- Thoroughly vet references
- Compensate smartly
- People attracted to work at a startup are rarely motivated by salary
- Equity and stock options
- And lifestyle benefits
- Outsource rather than hire for non critical skills
- The hardest round of hires is the second round after the early employees
- Continue to communicate the vision throughout
- Who are we and where are we trying to go
- Advisory boards are critical