Hey readers,
I am always bothered by one question in my mind: How do startup founders “form the initial team” ? For those of you who have read my startup culture report, comparing US, Japan and Indian startup cultures, we touched on some of that. However, I would be very keen on hearing some views from you. To be more specific:
1. If one has an idea, what is the process one follows to find the “right partner” ? Is there such a process?
2. I quizzed about 20 famous, successful, serial entrepreneurs. Most did not have a good answer. The best answer I got is as follows, from the founder of Analog Devices:
a. 2 founders is the best scenario
b. both should complement each other in terms of skillsets.
c. 1 of them should be “technical/scientific” and the other a business guy and the leader.
d. The reponsibilities should be clearly dilineated.
thoughts? I think this is a good research project, which might help first time entrepreneurs…
-Shiva Venkatraman
shivav@sloan.mit.edu
- Rajat Gupta’s article: a classic - July 4, 2006
- How do founders meet and decide to “DO A STARTUP”? - July 2, 2006
- Startup Culture Report: Emailed to everyone who had asked for it - July 2, 2006
Trust & comfort are very important. If a team has this, it may even compensate for lack of 2a, 2b & 2c .
btw, on a related note, the following contains detailed info on the origin of Mindtree
http://www.mindtree.com/bro/story.pdf
http://www.mindtree.com/bro/story.pdf
Please do no look for good answers. Because there is none. Each startup is different. There is no definitive plan or checklist as Krish and other readers mentioned. There are so many suggestions out there on the web about on this topic. But based on my experience, here are my 2 cents:
1. When you come up with an idea to do some thing, many people may come up saying thats great let us do it, or i don’t think it will work. But few, believe in you rather than your idea and wanted to give it a try any way. These are the best prospects for your team. Its a very difficult path ahead. You need people who can stay with you, irrespective of rain or drain.
2. Choose people with complementary backgrounds. particularly business/mgmt/sales background. They are vital to success. Remember, up to 70% of effort will be spent on marketing alone.
3. If all you have is your close knit group of friends, mostly you all think alike, not a good team for problem solving. Choose people who think and act different. Outrageous is a good word to define. Because, each startup is entirely different and needs entirely new solution to every day problems than text book reasoning.
It is very difficult to find people who match all three aspects, but worth exploring ALL THE TIME. You never know. Once you find them, be prepared to loose one or all of them. Keep everything in written form. Assume every possible difference and situtation and decide in writing how to go about it. Your can not risk your dreams at the cost of one or all of them. That is why, it should be an ongoing process at every networking opportunity.