The team is the most important thing for a startup – the biggest deciding factor to make or break your startup. A not-so-great idea with an amazing team will do wonderful things while an amazing idea with a not-so-great team will probably remain mediocre or fail. Taking proper steps to build a team for your startup can increase your odds at success tremendously.
This study done by CB Insights on “Top 20 Reasons why startups fail” found out that 23% of the startups fail because of the wrong team, 13 % because of the lack of focus, and 9% because of lack of passion which makes it 45% of startups fail because of an ill-focused, impassionate team and this does not have to be your story.
Build a team without Money
While you are just starting out, it is highly likely that you will not have the resources to hire full-time employees on the payroll, and to be honest it might not even be necessary. Also, do not go looking for standard employees like a CTO and a CMO or even a content creator, just because every company has one.
As you list down how the operations will run, you can figure out what kind of people you need to get things done, as you go around doing those things, you will figure out whom do you really need in a team.
In early stages, it is best to take on people who share the same vision as yours and believe in your dreams for your organization. People who motivated themselves because they believe in your product, your company, and you.
In Nepal, it could seem like it is difficult to find such people who are less motivated by money and more by their passion and vision, so it is best to start a team with a friend or relative because you always know what kind of person you need onboard and if they fit into the criteria or not.
Do you need a Co-Founder?
Not every company/startup has a co-founder and you might not need one as well.
Question yourself why do I need a co-founder? Don’t look for a co-founder just for the sake of having one. See what good would it do to your business and most importantly your vision.
Having a good co-founder definitely makes work easier, less lonely, reduces the workload, brings in extra resources, if you are someone who loves brainstorming and having somebody to work with you closely, you’d cherish a co-founder.
If you decide to go the solo route, remember that you are not really alone. Having a group of advisors is an invaluable resource to any entrepreneur. You will have your full authority and not to mention, equity. Decision making will be faster and You will not have to explain or discuss everything you do. Plus you completely eliminate the risk of getting a bad co-founder and failing in your startup.
Do you need a Full-time working team?
While you are just starting out, you do not need a full-time working team. In fact for the next couple of months, you can get your work done with the help of interns/part-time employees/freelancers. This will also get you acquainted on the different kinds of tasks that need to be done. So on later stages, when you do get someone to get the task done, you can easily delegate and assess the work.
You can use the money for improving the product/service quality and marketing. Also, COVID 19 has helped us realize that almost every job can be done online so you might not even need an office initially.
Organizational Culture/Work Ethic
How many people around you are happy in a job that they do?
Awfully less, right?
This tells a lot about the cultures in most offices in Nepal or in the world broadly. Great people stick where the culture is good. As you are building a team, you are also building an organizational culture that will last for years down the road, make sure you build a good one. The team should see your vision as clearly as you do and strive to fulfill it.
If your founding team and employees keep up to date with the latest innovations in technology and draw inspiration from diverse sources of knowledge (books, movies, blogs, arts, conferences, social media), they will enrich each other with their insights and elevate the level of creativity in your organization. They will also learn about the market you’re competing in from personal interest, come up with original ideas to excel, and be excited about them. They should feel like they are in it together to create a difference and not just another crappy job.
Delegate Work
While you are starting out, you are more likely to do most of the things by yourself but as the startup grows, you will get interns/employees. Most of the time, people have a difficult time trusting other people with tasks and delegating, but remember why you got them in the first place. Quit micromanaging.
42% of the startups fail because of “No market need” of their product/service. This is because of lack of idea validation and research before launching. Read How to Validate Your Business Idea?
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