2. Perhaps the topic should be……
FINDING, CONVINCING
and
Retaining Awesome Talent
….for start ups
3. To begin with, some MBA gyan……
Mentor/Coach
Co-Founder
Advisor
Core Team
Developers
Marketing
Sales
etc
At what point do you need each role?
The needs will change
Why do you need each role?
4. Map your needs. Be clear about why
you need some roles
Role When Why Short/Long
Mentor/Coach Idea - Confidence
- Bounce off ideas
- Network
- Help find investors
- Help find talent
The type of person you
are looking for may
change over time
Co-Founder Idea? - More the merrier
- Share the risk and
reward
- Builds confidence
- Synergistic
Advisor Seed/Funding stage - Approach
investors
- Resume building
May be in place just for
this specific objective
Core team Idea/Seed - Take on key
responsibilities
Ideally long term – but
be prepared that your
own idea of the right
person may change
Other team members Seed and beyond - Need based skills There will be peaks and
troughs – these tends
to be skills that are
more abundantly
available
Mapping out what
you think you need
will force you think
deeply
This step is crucial
as it enables you
to devise a plan to
attract the right
people
Note: this is an example only and is not meant to be prescriptive
5. So how do you convince someone to
join you….an unknown startup….?
Prestige/VisionMoney
Motivators
Abundant
skills
Tough to find
Rare/Industry
figure
Wealth
Your strategy will depend upon a combination of:
- Who you are looking for
- What motivates that person
- Is it a long term or a short term need
6. A different combination of motivators
will therefore need to be configured
Role Your
conviction
Vision Importance
accorded
Wealth
building
opportunity
Technical
thrill
Aggressive
stock plus
some
money
Some stock,
mostly
money
Mostly
money
Mentor/Coa
ch
Co-Founder
Advisor
Core team
Other team
members
Note: this is an example only and is not meant to be prescriptive
7. What can you leverage?
What you have going for you
• Your vision
• Your conviction
• Your network
• Your business plan and
willingness to part with
stock to create wealth
building options for those
willing to invest in you and
your idea
What you may not have
• Upfront cash
• Upfront company valuation
8. What you have far outweighs what
you don’t……..
And remember, if you sell to their families,
you have a high probability of a sale!
9. Some maxims….
• Your strongest selling point is your vision and conviction
• Ensure a match of objectives……and values……
• Be clear about short term vs long term roles – why give stock for short term roles
or non-critical ones?
• Remember stocks are difficult to value – sell the value on vision…but also
remember that stocks don’t pay bills. Some people need to do that
• Look at family background – does the person have a “cover”?
• Don’t hire for skill alone – value fit must be there. Be clear : are you looking for a
thinker + doer or only a doer. Would you part with stock for just a doer?
• Be prepared to invest a fair amount of time in recalibrating everyone's
commitment – and in reinforcing and in adjusting the formula for the right person
• Build relationships with the family – the start up must be an extended family;
share the joys and sorrows of life in general
• Involve the wider company – don’t get closeted with a coterie and leave the rest
out
• Communicate, communicate, communicate – in various media, whenever you get
an opportunity - visibility motivates across the board
