Starting up #2 – Pick the right people

Posted by Jaan on January 6th, 2008 | Add your comment

This is the second post in a different kind of series on being a web entrepreneur. My goal is to show why making decisions in context will make a web business more successful. No decision stands alone; everything you do in your business will affect every other aspect of it. The first post – Focus on one thing – was published on December 19.

So, you are focused like a laser on what your site or app will do. Now you have to choose the people who will help you make it a reality.

If you are lucky, you already have one or two people on board. Ideally you have worked together in the past, either as co-workers or on another startup venture.

Otherwise you probably have someone in mind. A former colleague, or a client or provider you have grown to trust. And trust is the magic word.

Regardless of how you find people for your new venture, it is imperative that you can trust them. By this I mean trust that they can get their job done.

In startup world there is rarely time to replace people, at least not in the core team and no at an early stage.

Spend time figuring out why you want someone on board, look at what their strengths and weaknesses are. If you don’t have complete faith that they will be pulling their weight and deliver – don’t work with them.

I have made a few mistakes in this area myself. The times I had a gut feeling that the person wasn’t quite right, despite good track records and recommendations etc, they turned out to be the weakest links.

I suggest only hiring (or joining, if you are being asked) the people your mind and gut can agree on. It has to feel right, you have to be in sync with them.

Having the right people on board can also be important when you go looking for venture funding. VCs will at some point raise the topic of the teams credentials and track record. If you can also show strong early results (like a kick-ass beta) where the team has really come through – you will have an edge over other entrepreneurs looking for the same $.