Learning Center

HR: Creating Your Dream Team

Corey Smith on surrounding your venture with the best talent: staff, mentors, advisors, and directors

Introduction 

Entrepreneurs often wear hundreds of different hats in the early days! It's critical to find the right support at the right time and for the right incentive. As founder, your role may be to define direction, align the right people, and motivate your team. At different stages through the Innovation Continuum as you move from idea to market, your venture may require a different set of skills or team dynamic. For example, in the early research stages your primary focus may be on R&D and your team should include you, other researchers and key partners, and early customers if possible. During product development, your focus may be on assessing the viability and opportunity. Your team may expand to include not only founders, but other key business interests and partners. During full business incubation, your focus may be on commercial preparation and entity formation. Your team begins to shift to include management, advisors, and other partners as well as the initial founders. In the final commercialization stage, you are hopefully in – or about to approach – the market. Your team will need a strong CEO; executive team; advisors; board of directors; other hires.

Tip: You are only one person, and in order for your company to be successful, it needs to become bigger than you. Invest in building a team of advisors, mentors, experts, cheerleaders, supporters, and fellow adventurers. There are many ways to do this without money in those early stages. The one thing you can already do now is to communicate well. Start a blog or a newsletter. Put together a target list of folks you want to attract to your company, and send them updates on your progress. Regular communication and demonstrated progress, combined with your natural passion and enthusiasm, creates a compelling invitation to support your company. This could lead to volunteers, advisors, partners, investors, and so on. Get them on your bandwagon early.

This video session presents the 30,000-foot view of team development for early-stage ventures: founder roles; effective team building; consideration for compensation and ownership; formation of an Advisory Committee; and the formation and oversight of a Board of Directors. A case study is included on equity distribution and ownership.

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