Building Your Startup Team

The process of bringing on additional employees is among the most difficult aspects of business. It is an arduous and difficult task to start a new business. Whatever type of business you’re launching it is important to consider the people you have on board to help you execute your goals.

But how do you locate these individuals? What can you do to determine whether they’re the people you’re seeking? In short, how do you determine who is a good fit for the team of startups? Here are some ideas that you can apply.

Characteristics

Before bringing someone on be part of your team, first determine if they possess the qualities that can aid you in reaching your goals and are able to push the envelope. Here are some characteristics that you can look for:

Entrepreneurial spirit

Entrepreneurs must be able to work with the support of a team with the same enthusiasm. Entrepreneurial life can be full of extremes, a focus and a constant desire to succeed. These people know their goals, and they find ways to accomplish it. If your employees don’t think about where they’re going or aren’t sure what they are looking for and what they want, they could cause damage to the vision you’ve been making for a long period of time. It could be fatal as it could cause the business fall.

Unique Talents and Skill Sets

Startups need to have the most skilled team members with the required skills to meet the requirements of the business. They must all be aware of their capabilities and be focused on their strengths. The ideal person should be exceptionally skilled at a particular job the startup requires.

Passion

It is essential to have an employee who shares the same enthusiasm for achieving the objectives of the undertaking as you. This is the motivation which will bring out the best of them. However talented and good your team members are, when they don’t take pride in the work they do, you’ll probably be disappointed. Passion must be present to be a success. Startups are challenging and requires laborious work. If your team members aren’t motivated to accomplish the goals and achieve it, they’re likely to quit in the process.

Dedication

The dedication of the team is essential in any business however, in a startup it’s crucial. The team members must be committed to the cause and willing to do all they can to be successful – and also feel that every member is as committed to the cause as their fellow team members. Dedication is being able to demonstrate that “never give-up” spirit that will ensure that your goals are met and your business is more likely to getting financially supported. This is the motivation that creates the feelings that make you stay awake at night when you’re stuck and make you want to rise at an unsettling time every day just because you are eager to begin or to accomplish something. A team who has committed themselves to the cause will definitely propel the company to a new level.

To determine if someone is qualified enough to be a part of the team that is starting, think about:

1. Does the person in question know what they are looking for?
2. Do they have a talent set that they excel in and would like to be the best at it?
3. Are they genuinely passionate? evident when they discuss their job, their skills or their daily life?
4. Do you know someone who is committed to achieving the goal of the startup?

Roles

Each business has their specific duties that must be fulfilled. It is common for startups that people are likely to wear many hats However, make sure that every employee is aware of what they are accountable for. As you expand and expand, you should think about the best time to bring on more employees with specific duties, but keep in mind that you should hire slowly, and then let them go. Like Tony Hsieh of Zappos pointed during his DCWEEK visit that bad hires are responsible for millions of dollars lost over the many years. In the case of startups the loss of time, money , and energy can prove devastating. Samantha Strauss point out six major roles that startups must consider in her article on How to Build a Startup Team written for Tech Cocktail

1. Leader/Project Manager – A person within the company must manage the project and keep everyone engaged on a daily basis. This person must be able to manage the team and ensure every aspect related to the task are taken care of.
2. DeveloperEngineer or Developer Most likely, your product requires engineering. Be sure to have the appropriate developer(s) present, in whatever role you require them to be in.
3. Designers – Good design can be the difference between a successful and a bad the product, so ensure you have someone to consider and manage the design of your business , from branding/logos and the look of your product, as well as marketing material.
4. Legal Consultant – There’s a myriad of legal issues that pop up frequently that you’ll need to handle by someone who has real legal know-how. Although you don’t want overspend on legalfees, it’s essential to safeguard your business from potential risks.
5. Marketing/Business – Your company isn’t going to be very successful when no one on the team is proficient in talking about it. It is important to ensure that everyone is planning overarching strategies regarding PR, marketing and sales. They spend time making the right decisions as well as understanding the audience and working out the distribution channels.
6. Accountant – A person must keep track of the money. This might sound odd, but most startups fail to make cash at first However, you need someone in charge of the finances as well as paying attention to tax deadlines and more. A solid foundation will help you a lot later on.

Finding Your Team

Finding the right teammate can be one of the most challenging aspects of forming the perfect team. This article Samantha provides areas to discover your ideal team member:

1. Personal network
2. Job Boards
3. Networking

Seven suggestions for building an initial team

To assist you in creating the team you have, Michael Cerda gave some excellent points in his guest blog at Mashable.com , Startup Hacks: Seven Ideas to Build Your Team

1. Hire like-DNA people – hire people who understand it that they have the same outlook on life and have similar capabilities.
2. Too many chiefs. Do not hire excessively many executives; being high-powered isn’t enjoyable.
3. Develop a low fat business Don’t hire anyone until you’re certain you’re in the hockey stick issues.
4. Hire scrappy people and be scrappy. The people who are scrappy discover ways, they generate momentum, they create conditions for things to happen and thrive in roadblocks. They don’t study the manual, they work things out, they can see that the woods and forests, discover opportunities in the field, they make a lot of attempts and fail quickly however they apply their lessons quickly.
5. Do do you sense it? Chemistry is essential.
6. Employ in tribes if you find tribes of people who were successful and happy working previously, stay them close.
7. Do not hire (or collaborate with) your acquaintances (for reasons of friendship) It is important to ensure that they are an underlying connection to the vision or task otherwise, you risk putting your friendship at risk and it is only in one of two ways.

Read the article to learn more about his advice.

We hope that this list of suggestions will help you create your ideal team for your startup. How did you create your team? We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback.