Necessary Aspects for Building a Winning Team

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Welcome to the world of?D2C Insider .

For today's 'Experts Speak' edition, we reached out to? 82°E 's Jigar K Shah . The co-founder, and investor shares insights on what it takes to build a successful team. Turns out it all starts with the first set of hires.

As a founder, you not only need experienced teammates but also people who are aligned with your vision.

Let's dive in!

Necessary Aspects for Building a Winning Team

In the fast-paced world of start-ups, success of a firm does not rely only on a visionary idea or a ground-breaking innovation. Gone are the days of the lone entrepreneurial hero, one-man army, who would don multiple hats of being a founder, salesman, marketer and designer, among many other roles.

To build a successful firm, it is imperative to assemble a strong team where the founding team and the core members have complementary skills.?

Right experience, skills and attitude

This group of individuals armed with the right experience, skills, and mindset are the ones responsible for transforming a founder’s vision into reality.?

The first step for executing a strong team is identifying suitable individuals. The early team members go through the most fragile and risky periods in a start-up’s journey. This means, the new hires would need to have deep belief and commitment to the founding team’s vision.

Entrepreneurial mindset

Founders also need to instill confidence and drive within their core members, while setting seemingly impossible targets, which encourages the new members to dream big. The initial team members also need to be armed with an entrepreneurial mindset, ability to navigate through uncertainty and also be able to recognize opportunities amidst ambiguity.

Autonomy, and ability alignment

Seeking out individuals whose abilities align and complement those of the founders is probably the most important part of the initial team building process. Empowerment is key to unlocking the full potential of early members, granting them autonomy and authority to execute their responsibilities allows them to thrive and deliver exceptional results.?

?By doing so, a diverse set of individuals are created who are capable of tackling challenges from multiple angles. Switching between the role of a follower and a leader, they effectively breathe life into the founder's vision.

Recruiting specialists

With the core team in place, the next step is to direct attention towards the firm’s product or proof of concept. Once this milestone is achieved, I believe it would be the right time to recruit specialists across key functions, who can contribute to building a business ground up and provide scale in the future.

Building culture

Lastly, culture plays a pivotal role in any organisation’s success. A company’s working tone is set by founders and the core team. Building a culture of ownership brings accessibility to co-founders, transparency, and forms strong and cohesive teams.

This kind of holistic approach not only ignites a collective spirit but also nurtures a soulful connection within the team, fostering an environment for flourishing passions and aspirations. Success also becomes more than just a destination, but a shared and fulfilling experience.

That's it for today, folks.

Let us know your thoughts and any other topic you'd like to know more about in the comment section.

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curated and edited by Prasannata Patwa