Founder Advice
By Todd Belveal, Founder and CEO at Washlava (2015-present). Originally published on Quora.
There isn’t a lot of room for error. Your team will make or break your startup.
When I began working on my second startup, Washlava, I knew I wanted partners. Once I decide to do a startup, I immediately team up. Why? Because I don’t like to be alone in my pursuits. Loneliness kills ventures.
And I don’t mean that in an emotional sense. I just mean that you need other ideas. You need to stay inspired. You need to get more done. You need a broader network.
Most of us like to work with people we know. You gradually keep an eye out and look for people in your network that can help. Depending on who you select, you can either improve the likelihood that you’ll move through the gates of the startup process, or you can hurt that likelihood. A great team, armed with a really solid foundation, is a powerful force.
As an entrepreneur, you aren’t going to be hiring like you would at a major corporation. It’s a different process. But each hire is critical. You want to make sure you’re coming at it the right way, that you have the right perspective.
What You’re Up Against
Having confidence in a management team is critical, especially when you’re going through rounds of funding. A lot of VCs have their own in-house recruiting team. They don’t have a problem coming in, kicking the founders out, and bringing on a new management team that they’ve personally selected.
Obviously, you don’t want that to happen, but it’s a reality you may have to face. Every person is examined down to the smallest level of detail. VCs scrutinize your team members’ skill sets, their talents, their abilities to take the business forward at the planned scale.
So, if you want your team to remain intact, you have to bring on people who are going to be confident and capable enough to get through that level of scrutiny. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker to have a weak link on your team, but it sure doesn’t help.
It’s not so much a question of people wanting to be involved. The question is whether they’re willing to take that risk. Do they have the chops to stand up to that pressure? Is this a person you can put in front of an investor with confidence that they’ll help you move forward?
“We Can Work With These People”
Even more than their particular skill set, it’s crucial that your team members have presence, confidence, and the ability to reasonably answer questions during the due diligence process. You don’t want someone who’s going to get nervous.
I make a point to push that forward in our decks when I’m presenting to VCs. I’ll tell them:
“Look, this is a good idea. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t a good idea. But what’s even better, here’s the team that’s executing on it.”
I can go through and talk about each person on my team to show that they have experience, ambition, desire. They’re smart. They have good chemistry. It’s powerful to be able to talk like that about your own team. People want to work with a smart, experienced group. Once the door closes behind you, you want them to say:
“That’s a solid team. We can work with that.”
It’s all going to come down to who you hire. Populating your team with people who are confident and smart — and can stand up to scrutiny — is crucial.
Look For Talent You Can Develop
That all sounds like a pretty tall order, and it is. Here’s the thing, I don’t have anyone on my current team who would have been ready to present on day one. Not many people have been on that stage before. You’re not going to find a lot of potential hires who’ve been involved in raising $10 million for a startup.
That’s fine. They may not know what to expect in that particular case, but their background should give you a good idea of whether or not they can handle it. Have they been through other situations where they had to face a similar pressure or accountability? Look for someone who’s had their mettle tested, who has some real character. That person is going to be capable of going into uncharted territory and coming out fine on the other side.
But it’s up to you to build up their confidence. There’s this myth that there is no employee development at startups. And while it’s not like the development programs you’ll find at a Fortune 500 company, there is development. If you can find that raw talent, it’s up to you to develop it. They’re the rookie quarterback, and you’re guiding them through their first year in the NFL — teaching them the plays, talking them through situations, expressing the expectations.
It’s all about their belief in the concept, in the company, in themselves. So when they get into that situation — when they come under scrutiny during that next round of funding — they have the confidence to answer the tough questions and keep you moving forward.
By Todd Belveal, Founder and CEO at Washlava (2015-present). Originally published on Quora.
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