Hiring the right start up team.

Fleshing out the right management team for a start up business is one of the hardest tasks to get right. After watching observing and engaging with the successes and failures of hundreds of start up businesses, I’ve identified the 5 key components of ensuring success in attracting the right leadership talent:

1. Hire for skills and not a marquee name – just because someone worked at a big exciting company with a recognizable brand does not mean they will make the transition to a start up successfully – make sure you are hiring doers and not just delegators.
2. Hire for attitude and flexibility –a sense of humor and optimism is critical in a start up and it has to be self-generating – really test for someone’s ability to adapt and handle change.
3. Hire for ego strength in solving problems – all executives and leaders in a start up have to problem solve and roll up their sleeves to get things done and this has to be more important than a title; too many times people get focused on what their position is and not the value they need to bring to the table.
4. Hire for the ability to be part of a team – this seems obvious but in high stress, under- resourced start up environments, teamwork is critical and leaders need to be collaborative, respectful and supportive of ALL team members.
5. Finally, hire people who have had start up experience or at least have some entrepreneurial, high risk activity in their past – people think start ups are exciting, fun, glamorous and unfettered (which they can be) but they are also tough, highly demanding, constantly changing and unpredictable, so make sure that who you hire has the rose colored glasses off and understands what they are really getting into.