Every entrepreneur worries about giving away too much information about his hot idea until it is no longer an idea but a fait accompli. Here are just some of the one-liners (forget the 30-second pitch) I've heard recently about some ventures: "It's in networking, but hardware'; 'It's networking software'; 'It's a networking appliance'; 'It's social networking'; 'It's distributing networked content'. Impressive. These are clearly the result of much deliberation. Notice that there's enough information to know if the startup is about hardware/sofware or both, and they're all in some way involved with networking (which is only a mammoth market with myriad niches). But that's it. There's no hint of what it is the startup will actually do. Hey, I've even run across people who're starting consulting practices who clam up about the details (consult with high-tech manufacturers - now that narrows the field).
I understand the reluctance to say too much too soon to too many - I'm not crazy about broadcasting my own idea either (no, it is not in networking - or is it?). But how do you maintain a conversation without sounding like a delusional dweeb with a penchant for conspiracy theories? For example, how do you answer a specific followup like "what kind of content do you work with"? Do you sound vague and weak and in serious need of a shot of business savvy by saying "all kinds", or uptight and suspicious with "can't talk about it yet"?
In my opinion, the majority of people do not need to know much - maybe just that you're involved in a certain space, field, industry. So what if your one-liner is a conversation dampener - you can always segue to a story about your chihuahua if you have one. Your cousin's wedding or your high school reunion are not events where you should be pouring out your entrepreneurial dreams anyway. And avoid events like entrepreneurs' forums (especially if they're awash with VCs) unless you're ready to bare all - folks in these places are very good at dragging details out of you.
There are some people who you'd want to talk to in some depth though. Maybe you want their advice, or you're hoping to hire them, or maybe they could be a customer. There are some that you could do an NDA with (potential hires for example), but as one colleague asked, how do you enforce the NDA? I'm sure it can be done, and people have done it, but I'm hoping the NDA is evidence of seriousness, something that'll make the signer a little more cautious. But there are many folks I've talked to without an NDA - these tend to be super-experienced, business heavy weights who I treat as trustworthy because they've proven to be so. But even then, I don't give them all the details. As for customer prospects, they're most unlikely to sign an NDA, especially at an early stage. They're tricky to work with since if you think of them as a prospect most likely the potential competition will too, and few of them would be secretive about your ideas unless your rep's like Tony Soprano's. Best tactic with prospects is to let them do the talking and cover way more ground than you intend to focus on - it'll give you good background info and make them a little fuzzy about the specifics.
Reticence. Caution. Discretion. All dull-sounding traits, but that's what you'll have to practice for a while until your startup is solid. But some day, oh frabjous day!, when you've got actual customers, you'll be ready to flood the world with information (and/or marketing-speak) and limit your paranoia to intellectual property protection. And then you can retire those chihuahua-story diversionary tactics.
Channeling the inner entrepreneur who views life as a startup. Musings about people, their spirit, the startup ethos and the entrepreneurial attitude, with an emphasis on education and social ventures. The 'how-to'? Not so much. But definitely the why, the what and the whatever.
Moonlighting.
In the very early stages, when all you have is an idea, it clearly makes sense to keep your current job. After all, you need to vet the idea to make sure it is viable (does the world really need a on-demand joke explainer?). So, you continue to work, spend a month or so researching, maybe even draw up some numbers and it's all looking good. What next?
If you're already at the enviable stage of not having to work for a living, there's a blog on yacht-buying that you should be reading. But if you're like most others, you've got to make money to cover pesky essentials like food and clothing and car insurance, and of course, gas, and you can't just up and quit. You need an exit-and-launch strategy.
I've seen a couple of entrepreneurs who'd set a goal of how much they'd have stashed in the bank before they quit, and they stuck it out in their jobs until they got there. Their discipline is very commendable - it would be wrenching to be spending long hours working on something else when your startup is so tantalizingly close.
There's the approach of continuing to draw the paycheck until you've lined up alternate funds, i.e. investors. Sounds great in theory, but there are many requirements to be met before investors commit funds, unless you're a proven entrepreneur with past successes. For example, it really helps to have a customers lined up - which is challenging to achieve without funding or product (but not impossible). It could take a long while before the startup is ready for funding. And of course, in all these cases you have to worry about intellectual property rights for anything you may develop while in someone else's employ.
Plan C, or the hedging-your-bets approach is to keep working until the startup reaches some milestons leading to revenue or funding, but maybe in a reduced capacity. This way you have more time to spend on your dream, but there's some spare change in your pockets too ,as well as light at the end of the tunnel. Consulting seems to be an attractive choice for providing some income while moonlighting on building a startup. It has a lot going for it - flexibility, no long-term commitments, decent compensation. But the downside is that there's no guarantees, and what you thought was a cushy three-month gig may turn out to be a three-day budget vaporization and you may have to spend your 'free' time seeking new engagements instead of nurturing your startup.
Lacking other financial cushions, working on another job while laying the foundation for your startup is a sensible approach, but it does have its costs. It takes time and distracts you from your idea. And there could be the very real danger of slipping into a 'comfort zone coma' - you're making money, so you slow down. You have to work hard to keep the fire in the belly burning (lay off the antacids!) so you can devote yourself to your dream sooner instead of later. If you don't, it may never be anything but a dream.
If you're already at the enviable stage of not having to work for a living, there's a blog on yacht-buying that you should be reading. But if you're like most others, you've got to make money to cover pesky essentials like food and clothing and car insurance, and of course, gas, and you can't just up and quit. You need an exit-and-launch strategy.
I've seen a couple of entrepreneurs who'd set a goal of how much they'd have stashed in the bank before they quit, and they stuck it out in their jobs until they got there. Their discipline is very commendable - it would be wrenching to be spending long hours working on something else when your startup is so tantalizingly close.
There's the approach of continuing to draw the paycheck until you've lined up alternate funds, i.e. investors. Sounds great in theory, but there are many requirements to be met before investors commit funds, unless you're a proven entrepreneur with past successes. For example, it really helps to have a customers lined up - which is challenging to achieve without funding or product (but not impossible). It could take a long while before the startup is ready for funding. And of course, in all these cases you have to worry about intellectual property rights for anything you may develop while in someone else's employ.
Plan C, or the hedging-your-bets approach is to keep working until the startup reaches some milestons leading to revenue or funding, but maybe in a reduced capacity. This way you have more time to spend on your dream, but there's some spare change in your pockets too ,as well as light at the end of the tunnel. Consulting seems to be an attractive choice for providing some income while moonlighting on building a startup. It has a lot going for it - flexibility, no long-term commitments, decent compensation. But the downside is that there's no guarantees, and what you thought was a cushy three-month gig may turn out to be a three-day budget vaporization and you may have to spend your 'free' time seeking new engagements instead of nurturing your startup.
Lacking other financial cushions, working on another job while laying the foundation for your startup is a sensible approach, but it does have its costs. It takes time and distracts you from your idea. And there could be the very real danger of slipping into a 'comfort zone coma' - you're making money, so you slow down. You have to work hard to keep the fire in the belly burning (lay off the antacids!) so you can devote yourself to your dream sooner instead of later. If you don't, it may never be anything but a dream.
Trolling for teams.
I recently read a couple of items on startup teams and stock ownership (People and Ownership was one of them). I understand all the angst about equity percentages (after all, it makes it easier to justify working 100 hour weeks with a shoestring budget), but before I can worry about the ownership, I have to find the people, and, to change the song just a tad, it's hard out there for startups.
So, in the ideal startup, the founder will have one or two awesomely qualified buddies with complementary skills, they'd all have worked together before (in perfect harmony of course), and they'd happily work out ownership, roles (somehow only one of them would even think of being the CEO) and bootstrap their new venture with no worries. Every entrepreneur's dream.
In the not-so-perfect world, the founder's best buddies can't dream of bootstrapping as they need fat corporate paychecks (and oooh! health care benefits!) to cushion their family, or they'd really, really love the idea but have just taken a great job in a funded company with great options and can they get back to you next year, or they've upped and moved to another country to experience the globalization first hand.
It's not a matter of being able to attract people to your idea - it's a matter of finding them.
Its partly due to the economy of course. Things are better than they were in 2003. Some of it may be the skill level you're looking for. Early stage teams need those who bring in more savvy than the grads fresh out of school, and there are fewer of the savvy types available.
Conventional wisdom has it that one should only hire through referrals. I see the point. It's better to have a friend of a friend of a friend than a total stranger - the credo of all social networks. Onto emailing, calling, buying lunches and lattes, spreading the word as much as possible.
Email blasts to social/professional clubs? Craigslist? Alumni lists? Hmmm...Blogs and MySpace? Not your usual fishing ponds. Why not blast it to the whole wide world? After all connecting the dots through friends and acquaintances is a slow process, though fun (good excuse to catch up with your networks), and the net is not as wide. I guess if you don't mind sifting through loads of straight-to-trash responses to find the one worth a reply, it could be an option.
What I've learned (and am re-experiencing) is that you need patience, a stick-with-it-ness. Entrepreneurs would rather be building the company than searching for people, but as the very valid cliche goes, people are the company. The formula is nothing exotic, just patience, along with the hard work of searching. You have to put in the effort of contant networking even if it's a drag. (It's a little more bearable if you can also put in some work on your business too - you feel better if you're making progress somewhere, and add some polish to your venture.)
For every ten people who connect with, you may find one prospect, and if you keep it up, sooner or later you'll find the one you're looking for. As this is the same advice given to job seekers, there's a chance the one you're seeking is seeking you too. And keep talking to those old buddies you've worked with before, maybe one of them will decide that those other stock options are not worth as much as yours - now you can prep for the ownership percentage talk.
So, in the ideal startup, the founder will have one or two awesomely qualified buddies with complementary skills, they'd all have worked together before (in perfect harmony of course), and they'd happily work out ownership, roles (somehow only one of them would even think of being the CEO) and bootstrap their new venture with no worries. Every entrepreneur's dream.
In the not-so-perfect world, the founder's best buddies can't dream of bootstrapping as they need fat corporate paychecks (and oooh! health care benefits!) to cushion their family, or they'd really, really love the idea but have just taken a great job in a funded company with great options and can they get back to you next year, or they've upped and moved to another country to experience the globalization first hand.
It's not a matter of being able to attract people to your idea - it's a matter of finding them.
Its partly due to the economy of course. Things are better than they were in 2003. Some of it may be the skill level you're looking for. Early stage teams need those who bring in more savvy than the grads fresh out of school, and there are fewer of the savvy types available.
Conventional wisdom has it that one should only hire through referrals. I see the point. It's better to have a friend of a friend of a friend than a total stranger - the credo of all social networks. Onto emailing, calling, buying lunches and lattes, spreading the word as much as possible.
Email blasts to social/professional clubs? Craigslist? Alumni lists? Hmmm...Blogs and MySpace? Not your usual fishing ponds. Why not blast it to the whole wide world? After all connecting the dots through friends and acquaintances is a slow process, though fun (good excuse to catch up with your networks), and the net is not as wide. I guess if you don't mind sifting through loads of straight-to-trash responses to find the one worth a reply, it could be an option.
What I've learned (and am re-experiencing) is that you need patience, a stick-with-it-ness. Entrepreneurs would rather be building the company than searching for people, but as the very valid cliche goes, people are the company. The formula is nothing exotic, just patience, along with the hard work of searching. You have to put in the effort of contant networking even if it's a drag. (It's a little more bearable if you can also put in some work on your business too - you feel better if you're making progress somewhere, and add some polish to your venture.)
For every ten people who connect with, you may find one prospect, and if you keep it up, sooner or later you'll find the one you're looking for. As this is the same advice given to job seekers, there's a chance the one you're seeking is seeking you too. And keep talking to those old buddies you've worked with before, maybe one of them will decide that those other stock options are not worth as much as yours - now you can prep for the ownership percentage talk.
Navigating through Nay-sayers.
Once again, this is a more of a toughie when you're just starting out. As an entrepreneur you've presumably thought through your idea (read all the how-to's, attended all the workshops) and worked out a business model that looks promising. And then you run across people, many whom you may respect, who say flat out ' I don't think there's a market for this', 'It's been done', 'The big guys will do this soon', 'It looks like a hard sell' or, worst of all, 'I don't know if you can pull this off'. It's enough to make the most gung-ho person come to a screeching halt and wonder if this was such a bright idea after all.
There's no easy answer. For every Dell, Google or JetBlue that defied the doubters and nay-sayers to become a roaring success, there are hundreds of others that never made it ....and we don't know if they had their doubters too who just happened to be right. On the other hand if people gave up on their ideas at the first whiff of skepticism, mankind wouldn't never have taken the first step from lightning-struck branches to flint stones.
How should a would-be entrepreneur handle doubts?
First, it really helps to listen to the skeptics. Not necessarily believe them, but listen and understand why they may say what they do. And if you listen without getting either defeatist or defensive you'll find it generates some creative thinking. When I heard 'it'll be a hard sell' about my idea, I dug in and tried to understand why that would be the case and realized that the speaker was focusing on just one market segment. It made me question why one would assume that would be the primary segment, and got me to focus on improving the positioning.
Second, do tons of research. The more you know about your potential customers, competition, location, market trends etc., etc., the less likely it is to you'd get derailed by others' opinions.
Third, do the math. Not to impresss would-be investors, but to convince the most critical person - you, the entrepreneur - that your idea is viable one. When you're crunching numbers for yourself you won't try to kid yourself with the most optimistic guesstimates, but will use the most conservative ones so you know what the worst case scenario could be.
Fourth, come up with some alternatives. If it is possible that the doubters are right, are there ways to avoid the problem or mitigate the risk or soften the impact? Even if someone raises questions about your abilities (you're not technical enough, or you're too much of an engineer, or you don't understand sales, or you're too young or too old, or too impatient or too idealistic or whatever) - and you think they may actually have a point there - you can address them when you're building your team. Remember, most issues can be resolved, or at least lessened.
Finally, it's easier to figure out what will work if you have something to actually try out. If you're convinced your idea will work, and you're willing to take the risk, it's yours - go get it started. Maybe you'll have to change your offering, or your market, or your business model, or maybe all of it, but at least you're not stuck in the deer-in-the-headlights mode of operating which would only result in a non-startup.
Questions, caution, analysis. Good. Paralysis. Bad.
Once again, this is a more of a toughie when you're just starting out. As an entrepreneur you've presumably thought through your idea (read all the how-to's, attended all the workshops) and worked out a business model that looks promising. And then you run across people, many whom you may respect, who say flat out ' I don't think there's a market for this', 'It's been done', 'The big guys will do this soon', 'It looks like a hard sell' or, worst of all, 'I don't know if you can pull this off'. It's enough to make the most gung-ho person come to a screeching halt and wonder if this was such a bright idea after all.
There's no easy answer. For every Dell, Google or JetBlue that defied the doubters and nay-sayers to become a roaring success, there are hundreds of others that never made it ....and we don't know if they had their doubters too who just happened to be right. On the other hand if people gave up on their ideas at the first whiff of skepticism, mankind wouldn't never have taken the first step from lightning-struck branches to flint stones.
How should a would-be entrepreneur handle doubts?
First, it really helps to listen to the skeptics. Not necessarily believe them, but listen and understand why they may say what they do. And if you listen without getting either defeatist or defensive you'll find it generates some creative thinking. When I heard 'it'll be a hard sell' about my idea, I dug in and tried to understand why that would be the case and realized that the speaker was focusing on just one market segment. It made me question why one would assume that would be the primary segment, and got me to focus on improving the positioning.
Second, do tons of research. The more you know about your potential customers, competition, location, market trends etc., etc., the less likely it is to you'd get derailed by others' opinions.
Third, do the math. Not to impresss would-be investors, but to convince the most critical person - you, the entrepreneur - that your idea is viable one. When you're crunching numbers for yourself you won't try to kid yourself with the most optimistic guesstimates, but will use the most conservative ones so you know what the worst case scenario could be.
Fourth, come up with some alternatives. If it is possible that the doubters are right, are there ways to avoid the problem or mitigate the risk or soften the impact? Even if someone raises questions about your abilities (you're not technical enough, or you're too much of an engineer, or you don't understand sales, or you're too young or too old, or too impatient or too idealistic or whatever) - and you think they may actually have a point there - you can address them when you're building your team. Remember, most issues can be resolved, or at least lessened.
Finally, it's easier to figure out what will work if you have something to actually try out. If you're convinced your idea will work, and you're willing to take the risk, it's yours - go get it started. Maybe you'll have to change your offering, or your market, or your business model, or maybe all of it, but at least you're not stuck in the deer-in-the-headlights mode of operating which would only result in a non-startup.
Questions, caution, analysis. Good. Paralysis. Bad.
Why another blog on startups
There are already zillions of blogs on startups. So why another one?
I must admit that when I recently did a blog search on 'startup' this one doesn't show up in the first few pages of results (maybe never, because I ran out of patience and stopped scrolling). But that doesn't bother me too much, make it at all, as my goals for doing this blog have already been met, and now it's all icing on the cake.
After my last startup experience, I discovered two things (1) I learned a lot of stuff that I wish I'd known earlier and (2) I really enjoy thinking about and discussing the startup experience. It was important that I share what I've learned with others - spread the word, help someone, chalk up some good karma kind of thing. Some of these things can only be learned through experience, and it is much better when it is not your own. I was seriously considering writing a book, not a how-to or do-you-have-what-it-takes kind of book, but a this-is-what-you-should-think-about,
this-is-what-you-should-watch-out-for and
this-happens-all-the-time
book that you can read if you're prepping for a startup and occasionally check out to recover your balance when everything seems to be going haywire.
So, I did start writing the book. I did an outline, skimmed through a couple of how-to books on non-fiction writing, and even did the first chapter. And I realized that it takes commitment to put in a few hours a day to it, something that's hard to come by when you're working. Also, having been immersed in only business-writing (am a PowerPoint junkie) for so long, I really needed the discipline of writing frequently to polish up my general writing skills. It started to look like it'd be two years or so for the book to be finished, which seemed a very slow way to help wannabe entrepreneurs.
There was the coffee/cocktail 'advisory' circuit of course. I've been discussing these ideas with some startup dreamers, and the helping is more immediate, but it still takes time and much consumption of beverages. So a blog seemed the thing to do. It gets the word out quickly (if anyone can find it) and makes me practice my writing skills. I'm the kind of person who'd only blog about what engages me, which is why writing about the startup ethos is fun and easy (I'd be seriously bored maintaining a blog about my daily activities - I couldn't read it myself).
Yesterday I was talking to an UCLA MBA student who needed my input on some startup issues and I'd told him about a couple of posts on this blog that might be relevant. He called back and was very effusive about how helpful it was 'because it speaks to the average Joe and tells you stuff that you'd never think about unless someone told you'. I'd started this blog with the idea that it didn't matter if it wasn't popular, I'd get to work on my writing and I'd feel it was worthwhile if it was helpful to just one person. Check and check. Ahhh. Now, if I can meet my startup goals....
I must admit that when I recently did a blog search on 'startup' this one doesn't show up in the first few pages of results (maybe never, because I ran out of patience and stopped scrolling). But that doesn't bother me too much, make it at all, as my goals for doing this blog have already been met, and now it's all icing on the cake.
After my last startup experience, I discovered two things (1) I learned a lot of stuff that I wish I'd known earlier and (2) I really enjoy thinking about and discussing the startup experience. It was important that I share what I've learned with others - spread the word, help someone, chalk up some good karma kind of thing. Some of these things can only be learned through experience, and it is much better when it is not your own. I was seriously considering writing a book, not a how-to or do-you-have-what-it-takes kind of book, but a this-is-what-you-should-think-about,
this-is-what-you-should-watch-out-for and
this-happens-all-the-time
book that you can read if you're prepping for a startup and occasionally check out to recover your balance when everything seems to be going haywire.
So, I did start writing the book. I did an outline, skimmed through a couple of how-to books on non-fiction writing, and even did the first chapter. And I realized that it takes commitment to put in a few hours a day to it, something that's hard to come by when you're working. Also, having been immersed in only business-writing (am a PowerPoint junkie) for so long, I really needed the discipline of writing frequently to polish up my general writing skills. It started to look like it'd be two years or so for the book to be finished, which seemed a very slow way to help wannabe entrepreneurs.
There was the coffee/cocktail 'advisory' circuit of course. I've been discussing these ideas with some startup dreamers, and the helping is more immediate, but it still takes time and much consumption of beverages. So a blog seemed the thing to do. It gets the word out quickly (if anyone can find it) and makes me practice my writing skills. I'm the kind of person who'd only blog about what engages me, which is why writing about the startup ethos is fun and easy (I'd be seriously bored maintaining a blog about my daily activities - I couldn't read it myself).
Yesterday I was talking to an UCLA MBA student who needed my input on some startup issues and I'd told him about a couple of posts on this blog that might be relevant. He called back and was very effusive about how helpful it was 'because it speaks to the average Joe and tells you stuff that you'd never think about unless someone told you'. I'd started this blog with the idea that it didn't matter if it wasn't popular, I'd get to work on my writing and I'd feel it was worthwhile if it was helpful to just one person. Check and check. Ahhh. Now, if I can meet my startup goals....
Startup value vs. values.
A few months ago I was talking to an investor who had just signed up to put in a chunk of change into the first institutional round of a startup. I asked him what his goals for the company were, and he answered 'I just want to focus on building value'.
A few days ago I was chatting with an entrepreneur who's working towards his own startup. We were discussing what to look for when staffing, and talked about how 'the team should have the same values'.
The funny thing is how often in the process of 'building value' those in the company complain that it has changed its values. Just in the past few months I've run across people from three different companies kvetching that their environment has changed, they're no longer a tight-knit team, and the intense fun they used to have has dissipated from their startup. In all cases, the most significant recent event was first round of funding. And interestingly, a drop-off in customer focus was also a common thread.
While it is the team that maintains the startup's values and delivers the startup's value, it is the startup leadership that ensures that one enables the other. First timers are sometimes inexperienced managers who may have never faced the challenge of nurturing the character of the team while delivering on goals and objectives. In the early stages it's often not an issue as the team is very small and it is easy to align everyone to the same goals as well as values. But when the team burgeons suddenly (a result of a funding infusion - the same effect is not experienced from the more controlled growth of customer acquisition), the leaders have to be aware that the values need as much attention as the goals, and there are a whole bunch of new people that have to be cultivated and meshed into the team. And it is so easy to assume it'll somehow take care of itself just because you had a great team to start with - especially when you're swamped with whole new demands for meetings, press releases, and general schmoozing and hobnobbing which are all supposed to help you increase 'value'.
Why are values so important anyway? For one, it makes for a more cohesive team. It makes it more likely that they get along and stick together. (It's somewhat like marriage. If the couple has no shared values they're not even likely to get married - unless they were in Vegas in an altered state - leave alone stick together for any length of time.) Two, the team has less to argue about (yeah! more work getting done!). Three, it fosters predictability, which can be a good thing in a company. Four, it gives the startup soul. And of course, something to put up on a poster in the front room to impress the visitors and newbies.
As for startup value, there's no need to belabor the obvious. Without it, there's no point in the startup. But the trick is to remember that you can't sustain building value without fostering values, as you will quite possibly lose your way, lose your team and wake up one day and wonder why the fun's gone and you 'can't get no satisfaction'.
A few days ago I was chatting with an entrepreneur who's working towards his own startup. We were discussing what to look for when staffing, and talked about how 'the team should have the same values'.
The funny thing is how often in the process of 'building value' those in the company complain that it has changed its values. Just in the past few months I've run across people from three different companies kvetching that their environment has changed, they're no longer a tight-knit team, and the intense fun they used to have has dissipated from their startup. In all cases, the most significant recent event was first round of funding. And interestingly, a drop-off in customer focus was also a common thread.
While it is the team that maintains the startup's values and delivers the startup's value, it is the startup leadership that ensures that one enables the other. First timers are sometimes inexperienced managers who may have never faced the challenge of nurturing the character of the team while delivering on goals and objectives. In the early stages it's often not an issue as the team is very small and it is easy to align everyone to the same goals as well as values. But when the team burgeons suddenly (a result of a funding infusion - the same effect is not experienced from the more controlled growth of customer acquisition), the leaders have to be aware that the values need as much attention as the goals, and there are a whole bunch of new people that have to be cultivated and meshed into the team. And it is so easy to assume it'll somehow take care of itself just because you had a great team to start with - especially when you're swamped with whole new demands for meetings, press releases, and general schmoozing and hobnobbing which are all supposed to help you increase 'value'.
Why are values so important anyway? For one, it makes for a more cohesive team. It makes it more likely that they get along and stick together. (It's somewhat like marriage. If the couple has no shared values they're not even likely to get married - unless they were in Vegas in an altered state - leave alone stick together for any length of time.) Two, the team has less to argue about (yeah! more work getting done!). Three, it fosters predictability, which can be a good thing in a company. Four, it gives the startup soul. And of course, something to put up on a poster in the front room to impress the visitors and newbies.
As for startup value, there's no need to belabor the obvious. Without it, there's no point in the startup. But the trick is to remember that you can't sustain building value without fostering values, as you will quite possibly lose your way, lose your team and wake up one day and wonder why the fun's gone and you 'can't get no satisfaction'.
People Picking.
The complexities of early-stage staffing. (If you're running a one-person show, you may think you don't have to worry about the kind of people you're going to pick to join your company - you're only almost off the hook. One of the advantages of working with a team is that you can try to find others with skills you lack. If it is just yourself, you have to figure out how plug the gaps on your own. Can be done of course, but it takes knowing what they are.)
First off, it is really, really hard to do it all on your own, even in the very early stages. Even if you're a super-hero, and can wear a dozen hats (sorry, this kind doesn't get the cool capes) and do everything yourself, you'll find that it just doesn't work. Things take too long, or slip through the cracks. Or, you're busy formulating a square peg for what another set of eyes would have recognized as a round hole. Worst of all, the entrepreneurial spirit starts flagging without others to fan it.
So what kind of people do you pick? Sure, it is good to round out the skill set. But in the very early stages, I think it is almost as important to round out the mind set and the perspectives as well. If you're the one with the everything-is-rosy glasses on, you need someone who is a little more skeptical. If you read a chance headline and see a market trend, you need someone who researches 100 reports to find the numbers before she agrees with you. You need to balance the view.
Do you need someone with experience in the space you're in, or someone with enthusiasm for ditto? Most of the startup gurus push enthusiasm and passion every time. And I agree with them. Though there is a strange disconnect that when you go for funding investors seem to prefer a team with eye-popping resumes, most entrepreneurs would rather have someone's who's all fired up about their venture. I have, in the past, given in to temptation and hired people with great competence but not much emotional involvement, and they didn't last too long. Their vaunted experience didn't make much of an impact either.
Of course, passion alone won't build the company. You need smarts, and not just domain specific smarts like technical skills, but an overall 'quickness of understanding' on top of that. And when you're in the early stage, you definitely can't settle for mediocrity. If someone can't pick up on your idea, doesn't bother doing research about your space, or can't extrapolate on the potential - forget about the stellar resume and top schools, however tempting they may be, that's not who you need now.
There's one other criteria (which surprisingly many experts don't often mention), pick people who mesh with your style, whatever it may be. While the crucible of the startup will meld everyone into one unit to some extent, it is not worth hassling with people who have very divergent approaches to work. If you know you're a micro-manager, you probably also know that you're not going to change anytime soon, so you might as well get folks who can handle that (and you) comfortably. If you're a 'I'll tell you what needs to get done, and you can go away and do it' kind of person, someone who likes the warm fuzzies of discussing and confirming everything up front may be left feeling very lost - and lost is a depressing way to be in a startup.
People who have passion, smarts, compatibility, and complementary perspectives - and the ability to work for peanuts. The perfect startup team.
The complexities of early-stage staffing. (If you're running a one-person show, you may think you don't have to worry about the kind of people you're going to pick to join your company - you're only almost off the hook. One of the advantages of working with a team is that you can try to find others with skills you lack. If it is just yourself, you have to figure out how plug the gaps on your own. Can be done of course, but it takes knowing what they are.)
First off, it is really, really hard to do it all on your own, even in the very early stages. Even if you're a super-hero, and can wear a dozen hats (sorry, this kind doesn't get the cool capes) and do everything yourself, you'll find that it just doesn't work. Things take too long, or slip through the cracks. Or, you're busy formulating a square peg for what another set of eyes would have recognized as a round hole. Worst of all, the entrepreneurial spirit starts flagging without others to fan it.
So what kind of people do you pick? Sure, it is good to round out the skill set. But in the very early stages, I think it is almost as important to round out the mind set and the perspectives as well. If you're the one with the everything-is-rosy glasses on, you need someone who is a little more skeptical. If you read a chance headline and see a market trend, you need someone who researches 100 reports to find the numbers before she agrees with you. You need to balance the view.
Do you need someone with experience in the space you're in, or someone with enthusiasm for ditto? Most of the startup gurus push enthusiasm and passion every time. And I agree with them. Though there is a strange disconnect that when you go for funding investors seem to prefer a team with eye-popping resumes, most entrepreneurs would rather have someone's who's all fired up about their venture. I have, in the past, given in to temptation and hired people with great competence but not much emotional involvement, and they didn't last too long. Their vaunted experience didn't make much of an impact either.
Of course, passion alone won't build the company. You need smarts, and not just domain specific smarts like technical skills, but an overall 'quickness of understanding' on top of that. And when you're in the early stage, you definitely can't settle for mediocrity. If someone can't pick up on your idea, doesn't bother doing research about your space, or can't extrapolate on the potential - forget about the stellar resume and top schools, however tempting they may be, that's not who you need now.
There's one other criteria (which surprisingly many experts don't often mention), pick people who mesh with your style, whatever it may be. While the crucible of the startup will meld everyone into one unit to some extent, it is not worth hassling with people who have very divergent approaches to work. If you know you're a micro-manager, you probably also know that you're not going to change anytime soon, so you might as well get folks who can handle that (and you) comfortably. If you're a 'I'll tell you what needs to get done, and you can go away and do it' kind of person, someone who likes the warm fuzzies of discussing and confirming everything up front may be left feeling very lost - and lost is a depressing way to be in a startup.
People who have passion, smarts, compatibility, and complementary perspectives - and the ability to work for peanuts. The perfect startup team.
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