The Top 5 Members of your Startup Team
Fantastic Team Members and Where to Find Them
A light-bulb flashes above your head with a fantastic idea that’ll be revolutionary. You’re keen to monetize. Hold those horses, because before anything else, finding your top-notch starting crew takes precedence.
Now, who’s part of that dream team?
Any founding business requires at least two key figures: One who knows the business, the Entrepreneur; and the Architect who puts ideas into motion. Keep in mind, you can be anyone — the Entrepreneur, the Architect, or some guy with a bright idea (We’ll come back to this one later), but building a strong team tops the list.
So Who’s Who?
1. The Entrepreneur: From the inception of an idea, you need someone who can make this idea marketable, talk to others, and begin building the team. Often, the Entrepreneur also takes the leadership role of being a guiding force towards the founder’s vision.
2. The Architect: This is the maker who takes ideas and thought into motion and product.
In the beginning, you may have to be a Jack of All Trades, taking on multiple positions at once. Since your business is in infancy, have those who believe in your product, who would invest equal time and money, by your side — it’s how top businesses like Apple, Harley-Davidson, and Google started out.
As the team builds, you’ll need a few other team members to develop an effective startup:
4. The Financier (Finance Manager): Assesses the viability & profitability of the business and product — This is vital when looking for investors. Additionally, your Finance Manager should understand the relationship between data, decisions, and people.
5. The Marketer: Adept with communication; should understand incentives, SEO, content creation, analytics. Keep in mind the difference between marketing and sales: to present the product and encourage sales vs. the selling of the product. Your initial marketer needs to focus on both aspects.
6. The Veteran: It’s never a bad thing to have more experience in your crew. You should have someone who’s fought the waves of building a business. The Veteran should know a bad deal when they see one. A Veteran could take hold in any other position or could be just a startup advisor.
Startup Crew, Assembly may be required. Tips included:
As you are building your team, never use the Waterfall method (a linear, sequential approach) as in searching one-by-one, taking it step-by-step. It should be an ongoing mission, seeking out your Entrepreneur and Architect first, and everyone else afterwards. You need to start building an MVP for your product during your search. You should be able to present your ongoing progress to others. Collect data from your target audience, friends, and family, find and make improvements, and find potential buyers.
Additionally, if there’s an incubator/accelerator in your area, apply! Learn the prerequisites entering their programs. This option is absolutely helpful (but only if their mentors match your business, so do your research) because you’ll be introduced to their network of mentors and investors to help find your team members and progress your business.
Don’t think this is an easy route: Few startups have successful applications, and even then, you’re still doing the brunt of the work.
Alright, so what? How do I assemble my team?
Let’s say you’re the one who’s just got a product idea and you’re keen to start a business, but you haven’t any entrepreneurial nor programming skills. Also, a startup accelerator/incubator isn’t an option.
You’ve got three options: Give up, Share the idea with anyone who has entrepreneurial/programming skills and let them roll with it, OR Bite the bullet and start building relationships with anyone and everyone.
Don’t expect to find a couple of people by the end of the week and start setting up shop. It’s an arduous process and takes some skill. With any of your initial founders, to build a strong startup, building strong relationships is foremost.
You need to consider experience in their field as the greatest factor in searching for your Architect or future CEO. Find someone who complements your skill-set and experience. List attributes that you want your leaders to have and what you wished you had.
Operate on due diligence from this point: Identify your potential key crew members — background checks, personal references, past business review are all vital. You should be more attentive with your Entrepreneur, since this member could be the business’s guiding force.
Also ensure that your Architect knows exactly what they’ll be doing. Define the position’s role requirements and craft a job description. Hiring a Tech Advisor with high coding abilities can also be an option if you have a software team for revision and assessment.
There’s no particular order for the other crew members — they are all vital to propel your business and could aid in pushing to hire the other members.
Talk to peers at other firms who have recently hired selected positions (CMO, CTO, CFO). And ask:
- What advice do you have for me?
- Do you have any candidates that weren’t a fit for you and might be a great fit for me that you can introduce me to?
Additionally, take advantage of social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, FB, Meetup, Google+, Cragislist, Angel.co etc. Connect with them, learn more about their abilities, interests, and how they could fit in with your business. The process could take weeks to months to develop a positive relationship with key crew members.
With any of your other crew members, prioritize interviewing for motivation and integrity first. If they’re not perfect in their position but are willing to bend over backwards for your company and reach your expectations, you’ve got a very valuable member. Experience and knowledge will be garnered along the way.
As the business continues to grow, you’ll be hiring more members, allowing for your top crew members to pass a few hats to others, spreading the work and lessening the workload. Your Architect, for example can involve two people: front-end and back-end engineers (how it looks and how it works, respectively).
In conclusion:
- Understand your strengths and weaknesses
- Who you are looking for to fill the gaps
- Investment in your idea from others is vital
- Relationships are key
Savin Weera is a UT San Antonio graduate with a B.A. in English. He is currently a writer at Sputnik ATX, Austin’s new incubator / accelerator for startups, launched October 4 — Apply today!
