A new venture starts from a glimmer, an idea, discovering a market void, fulfilling a consumer-expressed need or solving their problem ... in a profitable fashion.
There's no guarantee that the initial "idea person" will have the skills to implement, let alone take to market, his/her incubation. What may begin as a singular activity may quickly prove to require a core team or a substantial organization.
Team Selection Process is Critical
A product/service becomes a brand as soon as it can be described, as it reflects the beliefs and values of those who created it. Everything associated with that brand creates public perception, whether the "public" is friends and family ("f&f"), investors, alpha customers/users/partners or early-adopter customers (Web or traditional). This period is a prime example of when there isn't a second chance to make a first impression.
Core founding team members may include:
- Design/development/engineering
- Marketing/sales/business development
- Supply chain/manufacturing
- Finance
- A CFO-for-hire and/or a bookkeeper (this role is fluid and may/may not be a founder)
- Legal (for formation/corporate/IP protection and defense)
- Advisory and formal board members
Are the selected members generally like-minded in their approaches and outlooks? Can they come together to create a workable company culture from Day 1 that they're proud to express?
Picking once and picking correctly may be essential at the point of "going public" with a venture's existence, though circumstances change and earliest members may flow in, through and out of a project as it solidifies.
Evaluating Team Members and Partners
Depending on funding, a founding team may come together based on whomever is available, whomever can work for free/equity for a while (if required), whomever is local, whomever has the expertise regardless of situation or location.
The product innovation/invention or service itself should inform team-building direction per its requirements.
At formation, a team has a prime opportunity to pick and choose, to define itself, to put stakes in the ground as a public statement of its level of polish, expertise, experience. If a venture will require private equity funding (angels or VCs unrelated to the founders), initial first impression hurdles will include getting to a comfort level with a basic conversation after "Hello".
As humans connect more quickly and solidly having the advantage of introductions, the same applies to start-up teams: One of the first questions a prospective partner, advisor or investor will ask themselves after, "Do I know anything about this market? Am I interested in this market?" is: "Who else already likes this?" acting as a "Come on in, the water's fine!" invitation.
Partners want to work with start-up teams which are good fit to their investment/professional objectives, market situation, self image and with whom they can have common and ready intellectual (if not social) understanding.
Reducing Anxiety by Checking Off Partners' Mental Lists
When a start-up team approaches partners, it's critical that they show their pre-work. Those partners are operating from mental checklists.
- They want to be able to check off items of concern in their first exposures to the team
- They want to be able to add financial and/or operational value if they're going to be involved
- They want to not waste their, or the team's, time and effort.
Are team members able to answer checklist questions, like the following, before they're asked -- so as to reduce/eliminate partner anxieties and the "Do I know you?" and "Why should I want to talk with/invest in you?" questions lingering in their prospective partners' minds:
- Is this the optimal, correct team to be pursuing this venture?
- Have they searched sufficiently to put the right team together before meeting me?
- Do they have the educational backgrounds, expertise and experience to be doing this?
- Presented on one page, does this team look impressive?
- Are they "teachable"? (flexible enough to be guided/corrected/advised)
- Do they know themselves well enough as individuals?
- Will they put the needs of the venture before their own personal needs?
- Are they comfortable with a start-up level of risk and responsibility requirements?
- Can they focus? Innovate? Are they nimble? Lean?
- What are the dynamics of how well they work together as a team unit?
- Do they respect/admire/support/defend/teach each other? Solve problems together?
- Have they answered all the foundation marketing questions?
- Do they have a business model that's supportable, scalable, integrated, profitable?
- Have they sized their market opportunity bottoms-up and with proof? and can they name prospective customers who've committed to testing/buying their product/service near-term?
- Do they have a roadmap, a timeline, a series of offerings showing additive value -- and the details of the ways they'll get there?
- Will they protect my money and make it grow to the return I require?
Start-up teams are known by the company they keep. Surrounding themselves with like-minded, best-of-breed partners, whose brands quickly open doors and provide votes of confidence, is one of the best ways to accomplish this and is a very important step on a venture's road to success.
(c) 2010 Lisa C. Clark
All Rights Reserved.
(c) 2010 Lisa C. Clark
All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to leave a business or consumer-related comment here. All unrelated or inappropriate comments will be deleted.