When launching a startup, a make-or-break move for founders can be the formation of the startup team — the people who will help one scale and, hopefully, succeed. A solid and dedicated team is a must-have for any startup that hopes to have staying power. Knowing how to build that stellar team, and how to leverage their unique skills for the betterment of your company, takes experience and strong business acumen.
Svetlana Kamyshanskaya, the founder of Primum Law Group and an expert on charting successful courses for tech companies and other startups, stresses the importance of getting good advisors on hand from the get-go. From HR advisors to diversity consultants, having the right knowledge on hand can help you avoid costly team-building mistakes.
“From an advisory perspective, you have to identify what holes you have in your organization’s knowledge and expertise,” explains Kamyshanskaya. “You have to trust the person who is advising you, but you can’t fully trust them until you have a relationship with them.”
Building a relationship based on trust with advisors can be the first step in constructing your winning startup team. However, there are other things startup founders should know as well.
1. You can’t do it all
“I’ve seen a lot of scientists and engineers try to be business people,” says Kamyshanskaya. “There can be some success stories, but more often than not, their probability of success is lower.”
Entrepreneurs are often known for their propensity for a “lone wolf” approach to business. However, that approach can often be a recipe for disaster as no founder — no matter how skilled or intelligent — is excellent at every facet of building a business. By bringing on people who can perfectly fill the gaps in your startup needs, you can rest assured that a subject matter expert covers every need, whether that need is HR, R&D, or creative.
“In the early stages of a startup, many founders can go through a superhero phase,” Kayshanskaya remarks. “You have to be realistic in terms of what you can and cannot do.”
2. Find strength in diversity
Just as a founder needs people with many different talents on their team, diversity is also a strength. Studies show that companies that focus on diversity and equity in team-building often outperform their competitors by as much as 60%.
“I’m a big advocate for diversity,” Kamyshanskaya says. “If you start building your team with a diversity perspective, success is more probable.”
3. Working towards the same goal
A founder can put a team of the most diverse, talented people in place to help them scale, but if that team isn’t working together towards the same goal, it can all fall apart. “Your team can be diverse, but if there isn’t understanding, it will become dysfunctional,” Kamyshanskaya clarifies.
People come to the table with different visions, skill sets, and ways of working with others. “There’s a misconception that once you hire people, that’s it — that’s your team,” Kamyshanskaya adds, “but the group isn’t a team yet. It’s important to have advisors who can align visions and help the team be a team.”
4. Be a big picture thinker
Building a great startup team starts with big-picture thinking. What are the goals of the organization? Where do the founders see the organization going in one year? Five years? Ten years?
Goal orientation and always keeping the “bigger picture” in mind can help guide team-building decisions and management directions. Proper communication of this big picture can also help solidify teams and guard against dysfunction and team fracture.
The team is the cornerstone of every startup. While ideas, marketing approaches, and engagement may be important, none of that can happen without a solid team foundation. By bringing on the right skilled advisors and bridging gaps in what your organization needs, you can start your rise to startup success with a team that will significantly contribute to that success and stays with you for the long haul.
