This is part 7/7 of my series 30 things I learned from my startup experiences. In this final part, I will be talking about creating the first team, running the teams (sales and tech), overall tips and then there is a section on choosing your co-founder. There are slides on what happens when things do go wrong, or if there is a fall out and what are the ways out. And finally some tips on learning and networking as well.

1. PART 7 – People, Learning
& Emotions
things that
I learned
from my
startup
experience
Suhas Dutta

2. “
“
Plautus

3. So far…
• In the previous part of this series, we went through my experiences
from marketing and selling.
Idea
Starting
Executing
Funding
Marketing
Selling
People
Emotions
Learning
Results
• This is my last set of slides of this series and I will cover multiple
people related topics viz. people, building your team, emotions and
partnership. Much of what I write you will see in action, and will feel
somewhat intangibly.

4. Be practical and realistic
• No one wants to fail, and one
should not plan for that.
But, being aware that most
startups fail, is just being
practical.
• This is something that your team
needs to understand as well.
• Per an infographic
remember reading:
that
I
– 25% startups are likely to survive
long term, and about 47% startups
are expected to survive >5 years.
– Independent restaurants, direct
sales, retail stores and consulting
types of businesses are most likely
to fail.

5. Basic attitude, work style
•
Don’t startup for money. If you get
your product right, check all
boxes…money will happen at a
point of time.
•
Have patience. You will not be a
millionaire overnight.
•
Luck does play a part, but will not
get you business, customers,
goodwill or money. You will need
to work very hard, and very smart.
•
Be convinced about the journey
you are about to undertake. Even
if you fail, you would have learned
a lot in the process. It really is
worth the journey.
Half empty
Half full
Put two
cubes of ice
in, and drink

6. Basic attitude, work style
•
Your mindset has to be that of an
entrepreneur’s as has to be your
lifestyle.
•
Have fun sometimes, break free.
Keep your hobbies alive. Read.
•
Start your day early, it really does
help. Get a head start.
•
Half empty
Get hands on, be a leader and not
a manager.
Half full
Put two
cubes of ice
in, and drink

8. Building and running a team
These are from my experiences
about building and running a team
in general, not just in a startup.
•
Finding the right talent is
important. Hire the right person for
the job, instead of the “best
salesperson” you can find. It could
be a person from a different
industry too.
•
I felt providing feedback and
coaching in the moment helps
change behaviour. Feedback at
appraisal time is late.

9. Building and running a team
• Empowering people enabled
them to take initiative and often
move faster. …as opposed to
micro-managing.
• Conveying my teachable point
of view, has helped me in the
past. Though this might or
might not be effective or
appreciated
in
all
environments.
• Assembling the founding team
is an early super important
activity and is the hallmark of a
successful entrepreneur.

10. Building and running your sales team
• These people will bring money in,
and are as important as your tech
team if not more.
• Process:
– Some strategy and some process
are important. But over engineering
this stuff doesn’t seem to help much.
What you do need to create is
perhaps a cadence and culture for
the team.
– Managing the forward pipeline and
using it to churn a meaningful
forecast is important.
Besides
others, your investors will be happy
to receive this forecast report.
Some of what I
write here holds
for any sort of
team
that
you
build, sales or
otherwise.

11. Building and running your sales team
• Managing performance
– Performance
management
and
related compensation are things to
obsess about. Setting KPIs is the
first and most important task for a
new hire.
– As perhaps is setting and agreeing
upon
a
performance
based
commission plan. The largest chunk
of the compensation must come
from
commissions
based
on
achievable and stretch targets.
– Winning is good, and fun. Celebrate
wins, let people know.

12. Building and running your sales team
•
While you look at individuals consider
the team as a whole as well and try
to identify
– Address worrisome patterns
behaviour among the team
individuals immediately.
of
or
– Stars and mavericks would need to
be treated somewhat differently.
– Enable them, empower them with
technology. Be relentless with this, so
that they can spend more time with a
client or a prospective client. So,
protect their time from non-productive
tasks.
– Most sales teams that I have seen
are managed, and not necessarily
led.

13. Building and running a Tech team
•
Not all tech folk were created
equal
– (usually) this tech person is not
working in a large tech company
because he /she wouldn’t fit in there,
or wouldn’t qualify. So temper your
expectations a bit.
– But there are techies who are
startup specialists too, and these are
folk who will carry your product /
company.
•
If you are not a techie:
– Feel free to
observations
challenge
their
– Do some research on your own,
read up
– Don't take their word for it, and feel
free to get outside help from friends,
ex-colleagues etc.

14. Building and running a Tech team
• Set some of your expectations
right (whether you are a techie
or not)
– Get used to stuff breaking. But
formulate a mechanism to get
stuff back up quick.
– Don’t
expect
them
to
understand business impact
(usually) or be concerned.
– Basic sense of quality /
processes will often be missing.
All this will have to be built.
– Let them understand throwing
hardware to a software problem
is not the expected solution.
– Get your tech team to work with
a budget that you will approve
but they will manage.

16. Your co-founder / partner
• Pick and choose your cofounder very carefully. It really
is like getting married, and will
have a long and deep impact
on your business and well
being.
• Choosing an incompatible /bad
partner
will
ruin
your
business, your mental peace
and health.
• Try to pick someone who you
have worked with in the past. I
not, ensure you do a thorough
background check. Look for
integrity, professionalism, perfe
ction, basic hygiene factors
(like punctuality for instance)
and commitment.
One of the
largest reason
s for startup
failure is
founder
fallout.
Really!

17. Your co-founder / partner
•
In most cases, there is no such thing
as an equal partnership. Desire for
power, money etc does change
people.
•
To avoid future conflict, one of the two
(or more) needs to have primacy; Not
just verbally but also on paper. In the
agreements that you create and in
corporate documents (e.g. AOA or
MOA), power distribution and rights
need to be listed out. Sounds very
nasty, but trust me on this.
•
Many startups damage themselves
because of co-founder conflict. It is
better to part ways early than later
when more is at stake.

18. Your co-founder / partner
•
If you perceive you are carrying
deadweight, get that off your chest
early and if required, part ways.
•
Do
not
tolerate
lack
of
commitment,
bad
behavior
towards a customer or financial
irregularities even once.
•
If conflict breaks out and it starts
turning ugly, do remember “don’t
wallow with a pig in mud. You will
get dirty, and the pig enjoys it.”
•
There are ways to shut down, and
startup
again
quickly.
Your
investor might be able to guide
you how. If not, reach out to me
and I will tell you how.

20. Networking, Learning
•
Control the urge to spend too much
time networking assuming you will
generate a lot of business.
•
But do attend some workshops, some
networking events. Be selective.
•
Okay to go to some training
events, and appropriate to send team
members once in a while as well.
•
Go to some TIE events, you will find
likeminded people ready to lend a
helping hand too. TIE also provides
free co-working space; use it once in a
while.
•
Go to some investor meet type events
as well. You will find investors, fellow
entrepreneurs, potential customers
and some entertainment.

21. If you feel down and out…
•
Feeling insecure, experiencing fear will all
happen.
•
There will be periods of lull, depression
and failure. It will be difficult to keep your
chin up, and you will find your confidence
wanting. You might keep bumping into
naysayers as well. What kept me buoyant
in difficult times are:
–
Considering the world around me and
recognizing that there are people who are
less fortunate, and being thankful for what I
have / had.
–
Considering the amazing people I have in
my life.
–
Considering how I have overcome obstacles
in the past, with perseverance and patience.
–
Remembering my strengths as an
individual, and remembering my past
successes.
…and take a
break once in a
while. Run away
somewhere.
Avoid a burn
out!

22. As you go about doing your business, here are my last three pointers. I will let you
interpret this on your own. Jump in, be an entrepreneur, have fun!
Every second is important. Move fast.
SPEED
DISTANCE Know the perfect spot to be in.
React to the customer, be ready for
TIMING
their next move.

23. • Oh well, maybe they were not 30…much more
than that. I had started with a sheet of 30 bullet
points, but as I started creating the slides the 30
increased. …and hopefully it has been worth the
effort jotting all this down.
• …and hope you have enjoyed reading through the
material. If this material does help even one fellow
entrepreneur, I would consider my effort
successful.

24. • Have questions or feedback? Write to me.
• If you need a little help in terms of mentoring, reviewing
material, vetting a plan or the like…I would be happy to help a
fellow entrepreneur start her/his journey. It will cost you just a
cup of coffee.
• If you have already started and could do with some strategic
advice, helping create your business plans or your investment
pitch, marketing strategy, fulfill your company’s training
needs, need advice on the pitch etc, please feel free to reach
me.
• My coordinates are:
– reach@delhigate.com
– linkedin.com/in/suhasdutta/

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