{"id":17776,"date":"2019-08-06T10:13:47","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T17:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/?p=17776"},"modified":"2019-08-06T10:18:19","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T17:18:19","slug":"how-to-build-a-great-startup-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/how-to-build-a-great-startup-team\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build a Great Startup Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to building a great startup team<\/a>, you need access to the right talent. And for that, there\u2019s no one better to guide you than Max Shapiro<\/a>, the founder of PeopleConnect<\/a>. Max launched PeopleConnect in 2000 to help early-stage high-tech companies connect with the right talent they needed to take their startup to the next level. Today, PeopleConnect\u2019s clients are in technology, biotech, cleantech, apps, services, medical devices and consumer products.<\/p>\n

We recently had the opportunity to interview Max on what he thinks are the key methods to building a great startup team, and here\u2019s what he revealed to us:<\/p>\n

Building Your Team<\/h3>\n

It may sound simplistic from the outset, but great people truly are the lifeblood of a company. They are, without a doubt, the most important and strongest asset. When talking with venture capitalists, the number one risk factor that they mention is the team. You\u2019ve got to have people who are the smartest people in the room; even smarter than you. You want people who are team players, but the most important factor is that they are specialized and smart in areas where you are not.<\/p>\n

These are the people who have the drive of a winner. There are going to be people who come to you and they\u2019ve failed. They\u2019ve got a few bumps, bruises and blemishes, but they get back up again. Look at Steve Jobs, who was fired from the company he founded, and see how he was able to rebound and transform Apple into the brand we all know and love. People like him have had their share of upsets, but they still want to give it their best.<\/p>\n

So with that being said, what do you look for when screening candidates to join your team?<\/p>\n

Screening Candidates<\/h3>\n

Of course you want people on your team who are incredibly bright and ambitious. But they must also be a great cultural fit. They need to be able to adapt and blend in with your company culture and the way you do things, otherwise you\u2019ll face resistance and friction at every step.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also got to be able to \u201cread\u2019 people subjectively. Hiring people for your startup team is a lot like dating. If you\u2019re getting along with someone, but there are a couple of things that you really don\u2019t like about them or that get on your nerves, you\u2019re probably either going to have to break it off or get used to it, because people rarely change.<\/p>\n

Of course, by that same token, you don\u2019t want an ideal candidate to slog through spreadsheet or go through a bunch of hoops just for policy reasons. If you like them, they\u2019re excited and talented and it\u2019s a good fit — go for it. Don\u2019t let policy hold you back.
\nThe Recruiting Process<\/p>\n

The actual recruiting process is a bit more formal. First, you\u2019ll need to have a structured recruitment process in place. This ensures that not only is everyone treated the same way, but it also gives you the opportunity to see everyone on a level playing field. They\u2019re going to be talking amongst each other and judging you as well, in terms of fairness and equality of your hiring practices, so be aware that recruitment is very much a two-way street.<\/p>\n

The one thing you want to avoid is skipping the interview process entirely, no matter how much you might like the person and find that they\u2019re a seemingly perfect fit. Otherwise, you\u2019re setting yourself up to face some glaring issues down the line.<\/p>\n

Remember: hire slow and fire fast!<\/h3>\n

Take the time to see how this person gets along with other members of the team, other departments, your board, and so on. Let them hang out and get to know each other casually, like over lunch, to see how things are going.<\/p>\n

Likewise, if it\u2019s just not working out and you\u2019ve given them ample time to correct their mistakes, let them go. They\u2019re not doing you any favors by staying and you\u2019re not doing them any favors by keeping them when they obviously don\u2019t belong.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important to balance quality with quantity when it comes to reviewing your potential candidates. Don\u2019t be afraid to set the bar high when it comes to reviewing resumes so you aren\u2019t wasting time with average people. Have different engineers go through a series of engineering questions so you can see that they do indeed know what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

The Interview Process: Questions to Ask<\/h3>\n

You want to ask questions like \u201care you a team player?\u201d and \u201cwhy do you feel you\u2019re a fit for this position?\u201d but also throw some out-of-the-box questions their way too, such as \u201cwhat experience did you have before you were 12 that impacted your life?\u201d or \u201cwhat have you done to improve your knowledge in the past year?\u201d<\/p>\n

These questions are designed to really give the person a chance to be introspective about their life and clarify where they want to go, not just in terms of being with your company, but five or ten or twenty years from now. Other great questions can include \u201cwhat work are you most passionate about in your current role that you want to continue into the next one?\u201d Find out what drives them and how they hope to continue making an impact. Even more out of the box, \u201ctell me five words that best describe you.\u201d What words would they use to describe themselves? You can learn a great deal about how a person views themselves and how they fit into the overall vision you have for your company, by the way they answer these kinds of questions.<\/p>\n

Sell Your Company!<\/h3>\n

Not literally, of course, but it\u2019s important to remember that the candidate is evaluating you as much as you are them. That\u2019s why you have to show your passion and the challenges you\u2019re facing. If you tell a candidate that everything\u2019s fine and rosy, first of all, they won\u2019t believe you and second of all, they won\u2019t feel challenged and therefore, there\u2019s no reason for them to put in a 60 to 70 hour week helping you to grow your dream. You\u2019ve got to pitch your company to them just as you would pitch it to an angel investor!<\/p>\n

What Happens After You Make an Offer?<\/h3>\n

Even once you\u2019ve made the job offer, your job still isn\u2019t done. You have to continue to convince this incredibly bright, talented, motivated person that your company is the one they deserve to be at. Don\u2019t hesitate to back this up with all of the tools you have at your disposal. That means asking your investors to take calls with the candidates, asking mutual connections to \u201cbackchannel\u201d them and hype up your company, and otherwise make it clear that this is the place they should be.<\/p>\n

If you have any doubts, you can always start that person out in a contract position until you are ready to make a decision.<\/p>\n

Build Your Dream Team<\/h3>\n

The bottom line when it comes to building a great startup team is that it\u2019s not done overnight. It\u2019s done carefully and methodically, but also done in such a way that everyone can be involved. The people who are right for the job and for whom the job is a great fit will naturally float to the top and be easy to spot.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s then up to you and other leaders in your company to further shape and refine them into a better version of themselves that continues to nurture the startup\u2019s vision until it grows roots and can continue to sustain itself, as well as grow and thrive.<\/p>\n

Max Shapiro is a longtime friend of the network that operates within our larger ecosystem of partners<\/a>. As a benefit of membership, Founders Network founders receive 10% off PeopleConnects services. This 2 minute video<\/a> will give you a good idea about PeopleConnect\u2019s services.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to building a great startup team, you need access to the right talent. And for that, there\u2019s no one better to guide you than Max Shapiro, the … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":17779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7168],"tags":[21],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-17776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-startup-roles","tag-san-francisco"],"acf":[],"featured_image_data":{"src":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Max-headshot-2.jpg","alt":"Max headshot 2","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17776"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=17776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}