A startup sounds fun as one initiates the business as a solo entrepreneur. However, no single person can create a business that becomes successful; it is about the people who one works with to ensure that a business is successful or a failure.
Being a backbone to support the idea and execution plan, a team is a core to taking a business idea and making it worth millions with every member's expertise on board.
Certain steps can ease your process to find the right people can create a perfect team that can lead the organization with your values into consideration.
Unlike an already established organization, a startup needs a structure as it expands from being a one-person company or a small team of experts to a bigger organization after receiving success initially.
The most important part of the team is the founders as these visionaries bring the core values and company culture along with their vision to the table and guide the team.
If one is hiring for the startup and is not the founder, he/she should have a chat with the founders to understand how decisions will be made within the startup.
Once it is clear, one should identify the positions needed in the organization to complete the team. The basic structure should be inclusive of the departments including operations, finance, hr, marketing, etc.
The jobs in SEO, sales & marketing, programming, account management, and project management belong to different departments and they are just a handful of examples of positions that need to be filled.
It is important to prioritize what the brand is looking for in each of the positions to ensure the hiring of the right people with talents that the brand does not presently have.
Identifying the number of people in each department will help increase efficiency in the process and also help the brand be in sync with the budget.
A startup is a risky investment for everyone, even the employees. Start-ups initially do not have full-time employees; they might have people as partners or contract employees or interns.
Guidance from industry leaders who play the role of advisors for the brand can be located in an industry event or industry-leading blogs. These advisors can be market or domain experts, connectors, industry celebrities, personal coaches, and technical experts.
Part-time employees are also mostly employed by start-ups as they tend to deliver better with their excellent skills hiring someone full-time with not that level of expertise does not present as a safer choice.
Hiring people as contractors at the beginning and then moving to full-time employees is the best way to leverage a full set of skills for your business.
Once the requirement and roles are known, the quest to identify the right candidates for the job starts. One can look for a set of people to bring their expertise, talent, and adaptability into the business.
Talent: In a huge organization, the organization's goals can take over the personal goals and one might not recognize the individual talent that the employee is bringing in, whereas, in a startup early stage, each employee adds value to the business. The team must be able to wear multiple hats and deliver to their commitments.
Adapting: When it comes to being a part of a startup and being in different roles, it is essential to put together a startup team that can embrace the adapt-or-die nature of the startup scene. This will help put one mile ahead of the competition.
Experience: Since a startup lacks experience, it is essential to have someone on the team with experience being a part of a startup or industry. Having someone on board as a partner with startup experience can lead to having a massive advantage over competitors. The startup world is easy to understand and navigate through as one has experience in how to approach change that comes with every new challenge.
Communication: A team including young people and experts in a single organization may have various communication gaps. The team may include various individuals but they should function as a single organism, with each team member identifying and solving both their own and their teammates' problems.
Dedication: The startup team is not like a typical corporate enterprise and this different nature is what makes them unique By their very nature, startups require passionate people and they also offer less pay than the corporate enterprise work can be significantly more stressful and the job security is way lower.
A leader's vision is what makes the team come together and work towards changing the industry; it also guides the approach towards partners and customers.
Hiring interns or part-time employees is important or one does not have a choice but there is a much better chance of long-term success if the team members are thinking about the future of a business and what it could become.