Best Practices For Building A Founding Team

“Great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people” - Steve Jobs

Hey. It’s Matt.

Last time, we covered building a personal brand.

This time, it’s about exploring whether or not you need a founding team.

And if you do, then you need to make sure you’re not left holding the short end of the straw.

Let's get to it.

First, let's understand how a founding team works.

A founding team is made up of the people who you, the founder, think are the most capable professionals who can help you turn your startup into a thriving business.

However, that’s simply scratching the surface of it.

Having a good founding team goes beyond being able to successfully turn your idea into a reality.

It’s about:

Being able to confidently delegate tasks.

Being able to convince investors you're the real deal.

Being surrounded by trustworthy and like-minded people.

And, considering that around 18% of startups fail due to team problems...

It’s something you'd rather do properly, simply by making sure you pick the right people.

“18%? Just due to team problems? I need to see this for myself.”

I’ll be leaving a link to the article at the bottom.

Anyway, let’s get to discussing the right way of picking members for your team.

First of all, know your strong and weak points.

Think about what you’re capable of.

What are your skills?

If you’re working on a tech startup that’ll enable people to write and deploy code on the cloud while working across multiple devices and users seamlessly…

Will you be able to see things to completion?

Do you have what it takes?

Do you have all the technical skills to make sure things turn out properly?

Or are you more of a visionary person, with a strong thing when it comes to brainstorming, creativity, and innovation?

If you know what needs to be done, but simply have your hands full...

You could do one-off contracts with specialists who know what they're doing.

However, if you’re finding that you can’t exactly do everything on your own...

Then that’s where you set out looking for co-founders who’ll join you on your journey.

“Well, that is kinda true Matt. I can’t do everything. I’ll have to start learning a lot of things from scratch, and I don’t exactly have the time to do that.”

Exactly. You can only excel at what you know how to do.?

So, once you figure out your strong and weak points, make sure you know what your goal and vision are for your company.

That’ll not just help you find the right partners, but also those who have the right mindset and can align with you on what your goals are.

“Okay. What now?”

Done? Cool.

Now, think about what type of people you want.

The fewer, the better.

(That's up to you though)

Now, you have to decide what roles you need someone to take over.

After all, there are only so many hats you can wear without burning out.

Ideally, you’d want four types of people on your team.

• The visionary, who thinks about the new ideas and concepts, as well as where the company is headed.
• The action taker, who works on getting action items done strategically.
• The team leader, who has the final say in decision-making and handles communications and conflicts.
• The offer expert, who’s result driven and knows everything about the products or services your business is working on.

These are major in helping you get those first customers, those first investors onboard, those first wins, those first clients…all those firsts you need to be able to get the headstart you need.

“Okay…But, where do I find such people?”

Exactly my next point.

Now you know WHO you need, you need to know WHERE you can find them.

It’s not as simple as putting up a post on LinkedIn and finding capable talent, waiting to become your partner and help you succeed.

Well, sure, that’s ONE way you can get people interested in any opportunities you’ve got open.

However, it goes beyond simply getting people on board.

You have to make sure you vet them properly.

Will they be a good fit for you?

Will their mindset align with yours?

Will they go along with what you want to achieve?

Will they support you every step of the way, through thick and thin?

You want someone you can reliably hand over the workload to and focus on other, more pressing things.

However, it’s more long-term than that.

You want to make sure this is someone who’ll support what you want to do next...

Whether it’s getting acquired, going public, or diversifying as things proceed.

“What if I want someone who’s overly critical and questions what I’m doing? I mean, that’d keep me on my toes. Sure, not everyone would like that, but what if that’s what I want?”

Sure. Go find those types of people then.

The point is, make sure you surround yourself with the right people.?

People that complement your skills.

People that’ll help you progress.

Now, who you choose, what type of people they are, and what role they fulfill is up to you and what you need.?

So, instead of having things set in stone, it’s better to have general tips and guidelines to help you through the process.

There are a few qualities you want to make sure are in the people you surround yourself with, whether it's a co-founder, an employee, or a one-time specialist you’re bringing in to do some work.

First of all, it’s about being able to trust them.

Whether it's a top-secret idea for a new product or a casual strategy you developed to save a lot on your ads, you need to be able to trust your team members.

There’s no point in hiring someone to either save your time or make money if you’re spending time and money trying to make sure they’re not trying to do you a bad one.

Sure, normal security procedures make sense.

But if you have to micromanage someone, you might want to revisit your criteria for selecting people to join your team.

Next, it’s about having a diverse team.

This means not just different skill sets, but people from different backgrounds and experiences. The benefit is that you get access to a huge variety of perspectives and ideas, instead of just one single way of thinking across the board.

Other than that, it can help you target an equally diverse audience, while also working towards a better and more inclusive work environment.

However, one thing to keep in mind is to try to eliminate bias and discrimination of any form from the beginning, so that there’s nothing stopping anyone from achieving their full, true potential.

Open communication channels are a big one as well.

It’s going to be no fun if there’s a problem that needs to be addressed that a junior intern notices...

But is too scared to tell you because you’re the founder and they’re an intern.

Sure, some boundaries have to be respected.

However, along with that, problems, constructive criticisms, and potential issues need to be communicated to the right people so that they’re resolved ASAP.

"Okay, wait. What can I do here?"

Simple. let everyone know that it’s okay to speak up.

That way, you won’t have to spend as much time searching for the problems, and those that face issues will feel more included by being able to speak up and be heard.

And, finally, make sure you don’t put off things any more than they have to.

Still haven’t figured out the purpose and roles of each person? With no direction, you’re wasting time and money.

Haven’t set boundaries? That could end up causing misunderstandings and conflicts between different levels across different departments.

Are no team-building activities scheduled? Your loss. An upfront cost of going out, having fun, or playing games together goes beyond simply having fun. It fosters an environment of togetherness. It builds relations. Relations that’ll help you on a business as well as a personal level.

Too strict or rigid? Might do more harm than good if others can express their opinions or ideas or potential critiques on things they think can be done better.

All in all…

It’s about picking the right people that you know will

• compliment your skills?
• be a good match for you

all the while fostering an environment where they don’t have to worry about anything other than focusing on positive growth and having a work culture they enjoy.

These are the people that’ll help your business

• Get those first customers
• Win over those first few investors
• Come up with the processes and systems you need to beat your competition.

Think of it like a marriage. Not a marriage, but like one.

You’re in it for the long run.?

Might as well make sure you’ve got the right person.

Now, should you have one cofounder or ten?

That's up to you and your needs.

So, that’s a wrap.

Oh, by the way, if you’re worried about things like dividing equity, or bringing on a CEO, or if you should hire a consultant…

Don’t.

Don’t worry.

It’s all a process, and, as you go through the different stages, you figure out what you do.

Anyways, if you’ve still got any queries, or if there’s any way I can be of help, feel free to let me know and we’ll see what we can do.

Till next time, keep building,

Matt.

P.S. Here’s the link to the team problems thing: https://www.failory.com/blog/startup-failure-rate#2-team-problems-18