Seven Ways for startups to build top-level teams

Abstract:How can an excellent "A-level team" be created to promote the rapid development of entrepreneurial companies and increase the chances of success )?

For entrepreneurs, the team is the foundation of the company's development. Excellent Teams can drive the company to greatness, and poor teams can push the company to the abyss. Seriously building a startup team can increase the chance of success to some extent, but this is very difficult.

Do you need to find a partner? How do I find a partner? What kind of talents should we look? Excellent talents have a high demand for treatment. How can we use limited resources to find the best talents?

I am often asked by some entrepreneurs about these questions. Next I will introduce seven very important methods for team building, development, and talent retention.

Create initial team

1. select partners wisely

First, do you need a partner? I believe that most people's answers are "yes "! As Stratis karamaniakis, one of the two co-founders of our company, explains: "It is very difficult to start a business on your own. There will be a lot of confusion, anxiety, tension, fatigue ...... If you have a partner to share with you, you can better deal with these problems. Of course, there will also be quarrels at the scene, but everything can always be done when things become difficult ."

However, when selecting partners, you need to pay attention to three points:

1) strong relationship. Entrepreneurship is similar to marriage. The most successful partners are usually good friends, at least if they have worked together.

2) complementary skills. If our company has a clear division of responsibility, then the domain that the founder has their own expertise can make it easier for us to make decisions.

3) share your passion. Maybe the company we created can be sold at a high price next year, but what if we have a better chance in the next five years? You will face a lot of resistance. Therefore, partners must be able to share infinite passion and optimism to solve the problems they face.

2. Recruit practical people, but he wants to look forward to the future.

In the early stages of your business, you need to recruit people who can and are willing to do their jobs in multiple positions.

But at the same time, you need to understand that this is not a long-term plan. You need to consider what it should look like as the Team expands. You need to create a functional organizational structure-not the job name, but the features required by the job. In this way, when a functional position requires candidates, you can think about who is competent.

3. Create a "A-level team" using the unique advantages of a startup company"

The best talents will always be attracted by the best talents. A team with excellent talents can accelerate the company's growth. But how to attract stars? By canteen? Yoga room? Or a masseuse? None! Take advantage of three unique advantages of a startup company:

1) influence. In a startup team, the significant contributions that each team member makes to the company's business can be infinitely expanded.

2) exposure. Having multiple roles in a startup team will be one of the best ways to gain extensive experience. If employees do not know about finance, sales, or actual operations, they will be quickly trained in the startup team.

3) opportunities. High risk and high return. It is very convincing to play an important role in the rapidly growing business system, and such an opportunity can only be provided by entrepreneurial teams.

4. Do not hire anyone before you learn about it.

To know a person's performance and abilities, the interview is actually the most efficient way to predict, and the references provided by candidates are not representative. Thomas Layton, executive chairman of odesk, believes that you should not take a person to your office before you know him. To understand the candidates, they are actually contacts with the candidates.

Optimize and retain your team

5. "investment" for the most influential people"

Once you successfully establish your "A-level team", You need to constantly invest in and retain them. Therefore, you need to pay attention to the four dimensions that these people will care about:

1) influence. Maintaining influence is crucial. Employees need to feel that my work has a positive impact on the company and our company has an impact on the world.

2) growth and development. Excellent people are always positive. The most common reason for many large companies to lose talent is that they think they have stagnated. You must learn to help your A-level employees further become a +-level employees and constantly challenge them.

3) balance. Give employees time to know what is important to them outside of work. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that the Office can provide comfort to employees and communicate with each other on a regular basis to give employees a public space, such as a rest area and a kitchen.

4) material rewards. The three items above are very important, but they cannot pay rent and utilities for employees. Keep in mind that even if your resources are limited, you should reward your employees in multiple ways, such as equity, vacation, allowance, and other flexible ways.

6. Define goals and let team members know

Every company employee should have a clear goal. This not only makes us very clear about their performance, but also promotes employee development and strengthens their personal influence. Our CFO Greg Stanger once said that when these goals are not fulfilled, don't be afraid to take action because you want to protect your outstanding employees. You don't want to fire the unsuitable people, it is necessary to fire a common person.

7. Try to communicate with more people

Joy's law comes from a famous saying by Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy: "No matter who you are, most of the smartest people are working for others ." Your advantage is that your "team" is not limited to your employees, but also your board members, consultants, friends and even family members, freelancers, etc. Do not talk to others because you are afraid that others may plagiarize your ideas, because "execution" is the key to success or failure.

The above points may help you build a strong team, but entrepreneurs still need to remember to be flexible, because as the company develops, the team must be constantly changing.

Reference recommendations:

7 ways to build and retain a strong team as your company grows