team & culture guide for early stage startups
DESCRIPTION
A GenJuice CreationTRANSCRIPT
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT STARTUP TEAMFROM SCRATCH
ABOUT TO START YOUR OWN VENTURE?
IT’S EASY!
YOU JUST NEED THE RIGHT TEAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL
BUT FIRST, YOU HAVE TO FIND THE RIGHT BUSINESS
PARTNER
WE LIKE TO THINK OF THIS AS STARTUP DATING
WHEN EVALUATING WHO TO PARTNER WITH
ASK YOURSELVES “DO WE…”?
…share a passion for solving an existing problem? …feel comfortable being brutally honest? …have similar drives for success? …believe we can trust one another? …hate quitting? …are patient? …want to be in it together for the long haul?
IF THE ANSWER TO ALL THOSE QUESTIONS IS YES, THEN
YOU’VE FOUND YOUR MATCH!
NOW ON TO THE GOOD STUFF
TO MAKE A TEAM FROM SCRATCH
YOU NEED A FEW KEY INGREDIENTS
1. COMPLEMENTARY QUALITIES
2. BE LEAN
3. TAKE CHARGE
4. THE RIGHT CULTURE
KEY INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE THE PERFECT TEAM
INGREDIENT 1: ADD A MIXTURE OF COMPLEMENTARY QUALITIES
THERE ARE NUMEROUS PERSONALITY TESTS OUT THERE
THAT ALL BASICALLY TELL YOU THE SAME THING...
ARE YOU EXACTLY THE SAME AS ME?
VITRUVIAN MAN PLAYING GUITAR?
IF SO I WOULDN’T WANT YOU ON MY TEAM
EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP)
DO YOU KNOW YOURS?
YOUR USP IS A MIX OF:1. TALENT – SOMETHING YOU’RE BORN WITH2. SKILLS – SOMETHING YOU ACQUIRE OVER TIME
YOU WANT TO FIND TEAMMATES WITH COMPLEMENTARY USPs THAT SUPPORT
INDIVIDUAL STRENGTHS AND MINIMIZE WEAKNESSES
ALSO, PEOPLE ARE
INTUITIVE & EMOTIONAL
BEINGS
WHICH BRINGS US TO OUR NEXT POINT
DON’T
PARTNER WITH
(OR HIRE)
FRIENDS
MAKE SURE THERE IS A FIT TO THE OVERALL TASK, OTHERWISE YOU PUT A
FRIENDSHIP ON THE LINE.
A GenJuice MOMENT
B) - MARKETING- BUZZ- ALWAYS CHANGING
A)- SALES- SPONSORSHIPS- THE BLAND ONE
D)- DESIGN- DEVELOPMENT- SARCASM AT ITS BEST
C)- PARTNERSHIPS- EXECUTION- WILL CRY IF YOU MAKE THEM LAUGH
GUESS WHOSE USP
TWEET @MEETGENJUICE FOR THE ANSWERS
INGREDIENT 2: A PINCH OF LEAN
SPEEDY EXECUTION IS IMPERATIVE TO
ACHIEVING AGGRESSIVE STARTUP GOALS
DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF
A STARTUP, ONE COULD GO IN
ANY DIRECTION
BY HAVING A LEANER TEAM YOU REDUCE THE RISK OF…
1. MISCOMMUNICATION2. DELAYED DECISIONS
3. INABILITY TO GET $H!T DONE
A GenJuice MOMENT
DID YOU KNOW?
THE GJ TEAM CHANGED ITS FOCUS OVER 6 TIMES IN ITS FIRST 8 MONTHS. THEY FIGURED OUT WHAT TO DO AFTER ASKING THEIR DEDICATED
COMMUNITY FOR FEEDBACK.
INGREDIENT 3: EVERY CHEF HAS A SPECIALITY
IN A STARTUP, EVERYONE
WANTS TO BE IN CHARGE
THE BEGINNING STAGES OF A
STARTUP ARE CRUCIAL
DOES THE LEFT SIDE KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT IS DOING?
LEFT = STRATEGIC
RIGHT = CREATIVE
IN TODAY’S ERA, THE MIX OF CREATIVITY AND STRATEGY IS ESSENTIAL
EACH SIDE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE OTHER IS DOING
STARTUPSARE EMOTIONAL
ROLLERCOASTERS
STAGES OF A SUCCESSFUL STARTUP TEAM
HOPE
EXCITEMENT
TEAMWORK
SMALL WINS
EGOS
CONFLICT
RESOLUTION
TEAMWORK
RESTORED HOPE
RESULTS
TO AVOID CONFLICT CAUSED BY EGOS, EACH INDIVIDUAL ON THE
TEAM NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE OTHER PERSON IS DOING, AND
VALUE EVERYONE’S ROLES
THREE TIPS ON OVERCOMING CONFLICT
59
#1 USE THE MAJORITY RULE
60#2 FORM AN ADVISORY BOARD
61
#3 BE CREATIVE & HAVE FUN
AFTER ALL, YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH THESE PEOPLE
A GenJuice MOMENT
DID YOU KNOW?
DURING THE TOUR, ARIELLE AND VIRGILIA GOT INTO AN ARGUMENT ABOUT WHETHER “EMO” MUSIC IS CONSIDERED “REAL ROCK.” THEY RESOLVED THEIR CONFLICT BY IMPERSONATING DANIELLE’S TAE-BO INSPIRED DANCE MOVES.
INGREDIENT 4: CREATE THE SPECIAL SAUCE
A STARTUP’S CULTURE IS ALWAYS IN THE MAKING
BUT YOU CAN EXPEDITE THAT PROCESS BY IMPLEMENTING A FEW BASIC PRACTICES
LET’S TURN TO THE
CULTURE GOD
TONY HSIEH:
“EMBRACE AND DRIVE CHANGE, CREATE FUN, BE ADVENTUROUS, PURSUE GROWTH, BUILD OPEN AND HONEST RELATIONSHIPS, BUILD A POSITIVE TEAM AND FAMILY SPIRIT, DO MORE WITH LESS, BE HUMBLE, DELIVER WOW RESULTS.”
WE’VE ADDED 5 MORE CULTURAL PRACTICES TO
TONY’S LIST
•CELEBRATE SMALL WINS 1.MICRO-FAILING2.DON’T MICROMANAGE3.YOUR COMMUNITY KNOWS BEST4.COLLABORATION
SMALL (QUICK) WINS THAT YOU CAN CELEBRATE IMMEDIATELY ARE GREAT MOTIVATORS
BY FAILING FREQUENTLY AND LEARNING QUICKLY YOU MINIMIZE RISK SINCE YOU’RE TRYING AS MANY IDEAS AS POSSIBLE.
THESE SMALLER, BUT FREQUENT FAILURES, BRING ABOUT INNOVATION.
THE MORE YOU MICROMANAGE, THE LESS PRODUCTIVE EVERYONE BECOMES. TRUST THAT YOUR TEAM IS COMPETENT, AND LET THEM TAKE
CHARGE OF THEIR OWN WORK.
LEAD WITH THE INVISIBLE HAND
SETH GODIN SAYS, “BUILD YOUR TRIBE!”
BY LISTENING TO YOUR EMPLOYEES
AND YOUR AUDIENCE, YOU WILL
KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY EXPECT.
SINCE THE MAIN FOCUS OF YOUR STARTUP SHOULD BE TO SOLVE A PROBLEM, WHO BETTER TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO THAN YOUR COMMUNITY?
BUILDING A STARTUP IS A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT. COMBINE YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE WITH OTHERS TO GET AN OUT OF
THIS WORLD RESULT.
A GenJuice MOMENT
DID YOU KNOW?
IF YOU DON’T RECEIVE A RESPONSE BACK FROM A GENJUICER WITHIN 48 HRS, OUR TEAMMATES WILL SEND OUT AN EMBARRASSING TWEET TO THE WORLD.
REMEMBER: ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE THE WAY YOU WANT TO SHAPE YOUR
TEAM. GUIDE IT, HELP IT GET ITS S
HAPE, LET IT CHANGE.
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT
1. COMPLEMENTARY QUALITIES
2. BE LEAN
3. TAKE CHARGE
4. THE RIGHT CULTURE
THE PERFECT RECIPE ON HOW TO MAKE A TEAM
IN THE MEANTIME, MAKE SURE TO SHARE THIS WITH TWO
INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IN THE INITIAL STAGES OF THEIR STARTUPS
CREATED BY VIRGILIA KAUR SINGH
CO-FOUNDER/ COO OF [email protected]
MADE FOR EMERGING INFLUENCERS FROM ALL INDUSTRIES. ARE YOU ONE?
JOIN US 10/10/10.
PHOTO CREDITS (BECAUSE THEY MADE THE PRESENTATION EVEN MORE ENTERTAINING)