How can you evaluate a startup's management team?

It is critical to have founders equally invested between their time, financial contribution etc. There are many instances where founders come together to trial a concept, while working full time or in other scenarios, solely work on their start up, whatever the scenario, there must be a clear understanding, alignment and agreement defining terms. Also, having a deep understanding of each founder's expertise, skill set and knowledge is essential to establishing roles and responsibilities.

These assessments might help you to evaluate a startup's management team - Assess their experience & track record: Consider their relevant industry experience, past successes, and ability to execute effectively. Evaluate their leadership skills & vision: Analyze their ability to motivate and inspire a team, their communication style. Assess their strategic thinking & decision-making abilities: Analyze their ability to make informed decisions, and adapt to changing circumstances. Evaluate their operational expertise & problem-solving skills: Consider their understanding of financial management, resource allocation, and their ability to address challenges effectively. Assess their cultural fit and alignment with the company's values.

In my opinion, these are the red flags for me - Founders doing multiple gigs. Founder not leading sales himself/herself. Not involved deeply in hiring. Not obsessed with customer. Customer Success is outsourced.

Creativity knows no bounds similar to creatives who are able to sniff out opportunities and address market gaps correctly, however closeness to issue at hand grants a founder, the passion and zeal to solution, a background study is bound to yield these. Their energy and performance appear to match and march in sync....attention is another pointer, there is a consumption with any new solution or process that can add to their offering, they are always on the lookout and their solution are always work in progress never a finished product, leading to a continuous upgrade that reflects within the initial problem statement ~ congruence to vision.

You need to evaluate the driver before you can evaluate the bus they are driving. Who are the leaders and their origin stories? What experience or skills do they have that can increase the startups odds for success?

In my opinion, a successful team comprises individuals with visionary, strategic, and execution-focused roles. Their unity is strengthened by strong alignment, a solid plan, and measurable goals to track progress. This team must have established guidelines in place in collaboration, confidentiality, handling conflicts and effective communication.

The biggest win in any startup is the ability to correctly diagnose the status quo and offer solutions that attempt to resolve the issues identified. A premium will thus be on roles that are directly linked with the problem statement.....there is little or no attempt to address other surrounding issues but in time and with growth, these surrounding issue are addressed as they merit. Main roles have additional smaller roles attached for example,an engineering firm with the founder doubling as the team manager, sales and marketing manager and human resources manager.

Observando start up en proceso, se visualiza que aún más relevante que los fundadores, es el equipo directivo y su dinámica. La correcta composición y complementareidad dentro de un equipo directivo genera mejores resultados, de forma más acelerada y sostenida. Es fundamental equilibrar entre la experiencia de talentos, por ejemplo en el área de finanzas, que se puede complementar con el entusiasmo de un área comercia. Equipos que crecen juntos y generan rutinas de análisis, discusión, creación de valor acelerado. Flexibilidad para trabajar en modelos colaborativos, con data emergente y sensibilidad ante los stakeholders. Suma y sigue para el éxito. Dispuestos a experimentar con bases sólidas.

New startup tend to be mainly informal in approach to team dynamics, this aids the ability to brainstorm on emerging issues or needs.....most processes are viewed on a day to day resulting in fast turnarounds and adaptability. Every member of the team keeps up with the startups bottomline and understands their exact contribution to this...this tends to build on purpose and intra function collaborations.

Reference here is a major challenge, as the new name is known by a few...Their client will often be the first point to glean at. Startups often result in market changes and depending on personal or professional views, may or may not excite the market sufficiently to get accurate feedback.

Any researcher should be able to see the unique selling point attributable to a startup by viewing the outfit against its potential competitors, future competitors ,current and potential market. Collaborations with major market players or experienced players.