We asked five founders for advice on building the best team for their company. Check out what they had to say and make sure your startup teams are firing on all cylinders:
Hire Fast, Fire Fast
Building a team is probably the most difficult thing you will do. When we hired people, we tried to think about what skills, and previous experience would be good. Most of the times, we got it wrong, but we didn’t keep someone for a long time, that was not working. We once heard the phrase, “hire quickly, fire quickly,” and we stand by it. – Nathan Rothstein, cofounder and president of Project Repat
Been There, Done That
Truly trying to find people who understand the startup life, and preferably, ones that have lived it before. Startups have their ups and downs and while many people say they are up for it, the minute the going gets though, the ones who can’t handle the pressure and stress leave. I’ve seen this happen a few times where companies I’ve run have gone through some rough patches and inevitably, some people end up leaving because they can’t handle it. So finding team members that have personally lived the startup life before is a huge bonus. – Scott Ferriera, managing partner, cmdR Consulting
Find People Who Care
Find smart people who care about the product. The most important thing you can do early on is build a team of people who move fast, work hard, and genuinely care. Your product will always change, and your early team members will have a huge impact in shaping it. Our team uses our product personally on daily basis and this has helped us build a great product. – Yunha Kim, Founder of Simple Habit
Positive Influence
Julie, our software Systems Architect, looks for what she calls force multipliers. The basic question is, “Is the person able to positively influence beyond his/her set of tickets?” Force multipliers make everyone look good, not just themselves. – Zachary Watson, CEO of HoneyCo
Quality Counts
Building a team is the single most important component of building a business. A strong team can make a mediocre business successful, and a weak team can destroy a terrific business. As you invest in a powerful team, that quality flows through to customers and investors. – Tom Rose, founder and creator of Testive Read more advice for startups building teams at Tech.Co.
