The Key to Startup Success? Build a Dream Team

Starting a company is an exhilarating roller coaster ride. There are highs and there are lows, with long, slow climbs and startlingly swift dips. And often, you have no idea what’s next. But whether it’s more highs, or more lows that come your way, one thing is for certain -- it’s an absolutely thrilling ride.  

I’ve been lucky to have been involved in a number startups over the years, both as a Partner at Greylock, and as a founder including at my current company, Gladly. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about how to build a company -- and more importantly, how not to. The number one, most profound lesson I’ve learned, is an incredibly simple and intuitive one -- to build a successful company, it’s about people first. Everything else comes after that. 

At the end of the day, your product doesn’t build itself. It’s the people who make your product and company what it is, so getting that part of the equation right first is critical.

Hiring Extraordinary People

First and foremost, invest the time to find extraordinary people. Because it takes time. But it pays off in spades.

It might seem obvious to start with people, but here’s the twist: “extraordinary” has different definitions. It doesn’t necessarily mean the brightest stars, or experts in their field, or thirty years of experience. Those things can matter, but it’s also about dedication, passion, willingness to learn as well as the attitude that extraordinary people exhibit. For the truly extraordinary, there isn’t a problem that is too difficult to solve, or a challenge they can’t overcome. They have insatiable curiosity and a huge appetite for learning.

Hiring Diverse People

Instead of looking for that amorphous “culture fit,” put the focus on hiring diverse people. And don’t settle for the newspaper definition of diversity. Diversity at its core means approaching things in a different way, bringing a new way of thinking to problems, pushing others to tackle things differently.

This doesn’t mean that your company shouldn’t have a defined culture or set of values you expect in your employees. On the contrary, foundational touchstones that you don’t diverge from are crucial -- like putting people first, focusing on customer success, and acting like an owner -- but the key is to clearly define your culture in a way that focuses on common goals and ideals, rather than social or societal commonalities.

Hiring people who have opinions, thought processes and experiences that are wide in range will ultimately add more value to your company, and help discover and build the culture of your team, instead of fitting into it. Otherwise, you might end up in an echo chamber, with the same ideas being parroted back to you time and time again.

At Gladly, we value debate and diversity. We want to find people with different backgrounds, different ways of thinking and life experiences that can help contribute new ideas and solutions, and we know that doesn’t come without a strong intention to build more diversity into our team. But it’s working. We pride ourselves in the fact that nearly 30% of our technical workforce is made up of females, and that we continue to exceed the traditional standards of females in tech.

Don’t Just Lead -- Engage

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." -- John Quincy Adams

Engaging your team means placing real importance on a holistic view of your employees, including where they are in their personal lives as well as their professional aspirations. Take the time to get to know them and understand what motivates them, what doesn’t work for them, and then optimize your culture, where possible, to support that. Show your employees that you care about their experience, rather than just their output. These things will make them feel connected -- and more importantly -- will make them feel a part of, and excited about, your vision.

At Gladly, we’re passionate about people and customer service, so we were thrilled to put the two together and collaborate with customer service experts, Blake Morgan, Adam Toporek and Michael Pace, to publish an eBook on how companies can hire and engage a Customer Service Dream Team. While the book addresses the customer service field, the advice is based on universal principles about how to identify and cultivate the right team for your organization.

Focusing on your team is more than just leading them, it’s about engaging them. Your vision for the company has to inspire people and drive brilliance in execution. And inevitably, extraordinary people will want to be a part of that.