February 12, 2015

Building Your Start Up Team

Agenda• Entrepreneurial Characteristics

• Early Organizational Phases

• Build a Culture That Can Be Replicated

• Investing in Your Team

• Closing Thoughts

Entrepreneurial Characteristics

• Passionate*

• Resilient*

• Strong sense of self*

• Flexible to adapt to changing conditions*

• Vision*

• Trust and Loyalty– Sometimes to a fault

*Forbes Magazine

In The Beginning….• Start up phase• Picking your partners

– Everyone has partners– Don’t sell yourself short– Shared values

• Deal with sensitive issues early – Planning on where you want to go– Vision for the company– Ownership structure– Responsibilities– One person becomes the face of the organization

What’s Next….• Hopefully growth and opportunity

– And challenges

• Competition

• Systems

• Resources

• Money

• People– The hardest day you work, and each day

thereafter, is the day you hire someone

What To Look For in Staff• Talent is important, but not everything

– Gifted people are critical

– Have to match up with culture

• Without the right values failure is just around the corner

• What to do when the talent is there but the values are not– If the signs tell you that you are headed to the

dump, don’t be surprised when you get there

Loyalty• Loyalty is important, so how do you build

it?

– Invest in hiring process

– Provide opportunities for advancement

– Listen

– Give staff well-defined areas of authority to make decisions

Trust• Trust is also important, especially if the

business is growing rapidly– But it is not everything

– Don’t sacrifice trust for values or ability

– If you hire the people with the right values then trust won’t be as much of an issue

• Key positions– HR

– Finance

– Outside advisors

Hiring Friends and Family

• Sounds like a good idea, but….

– Values first

– Then ability and talent

– Watch your motives

• Ask yourself which is more valuable

– The working relationship

– Or the personal relationship

As The Organization Grows• Business becomes more complex

– Initial staff may be challenged

• Grow and advance to meet challenges

• Stay where they are (and grow disgruntled!)

• People talk

– Expect criticism

– Can create a toxic environment

• HR is there to support the staff

– Make sure your attorney puts together some good employment documents

Building Culture• As a leader you set the tone

– Your actions will be replicated by staff

• Something as simple as the time you arrive

• Meetings

• Deadlines

• Set expectations with staff

– Do as I say, not as I do doesn’t work

– Clear and concise communication

– Written is better than verbal

Investing In Your Team• Lunches, massages, parties

– Nothing wrong with these

– More external than internal

• Ask your staff what motivates them– Not all incentives are cash/earnings based

– You might be surprised

• Get to know people– Make a habit of taking time out of your day

to walk around and talk to people

Summary and Closing Thoughts• Decisions that are made early can have

long term implications

• Have the difficult discussions early

• Plan as best as an you can

• Focus on hiring for values first

• Stay in touch with initial staff

• Focus on culture

• Get to know your staff

• Don’t ever sacrifice family for work!

Thank You!Joe Stafford

jstafford@dataresolution.netLinkedin/in/jmstaff