Startups – How to Build
Out Your Early Team Lessons from Both Sides of the Table Mark Suster Startup Grind, February 2013 @msuster

 Ex software developer (‘91)
 BuildOnline (’99)  Koral / Both Sides Of The Table Salesforce.com (’05)  VC at GRP Partners (‘07)

When You First Start “Co
Founders”

My Priorities When Funding Early-Stage
Product Market Team

Why is the Team So
Important? Departures Departures Staff Staff FF En undin En undin r vvrr i i oo gg nm meer toom n nmeen nt t Cusstctioon Cu a cti Reea R Shit happens. Shit happens. Great teams Great teams handle handle adversity better adversity better AA M bblil M ii onn Disasters Disasters tiitio oo tiy nn ty ti ee too PR eet titi t PR pp zeze m oom CC

The Co-founder Mantra is a
Sacred Cow in Silicon Valley – I Believe It’s Overplayed http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/05/09/the-co-founder-mythology/

The Reality is That Over
Time Many Founders Fight

Huge Premium for Taking First
Leap. Can Hire Cofounders with Large Equity & Keep Creative Control

But I Know You’re Going
to All Want Co-Founders So Just Make Sure You Understand Prenuptials http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/08/18/founders-ownership-and-stock-options/

And Be Careful About Having
Too Many Co-Founders: It’s the Largest Dilution You’ll Ever Face

I Think VCs Care More
About Not Having a Single- Point-of-Failure than Exact Cofounder Founding Situation or Economics

Seed to A “Building the
Early Team”

Configuration of My Ideal Founding
Team: CEO Plus 4-5 Engineers  Financially numerate CEO CEO  Product management  Ability to lead / hire CTO // CTO Senior Senior Architect Architect eng eng eng eng eng eng http://www.quora.com/Startups/What-would-the-ideal-web-technology-start-up-team-be-composed-of

Pet Peeves for Me 
Don’t outsource your tech development  Don’t have a consulting firm build your core product  Don’t have tons of business people before you have product completed  Don’t overplay your advisory board. (I just care about your investors & management) http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/10/12/should-your-startup-have-an-advisory-board/

Don’t Hire People All Like
Yourself. Diversity in Startup Teams Matters

Product Management: One of Most
Underrated but Important Skills in a Startup design // design PM PM customer customer eng eng  Solve functional problems  Capture requirements  Architecture  Test value / determine whether customer will pay  Performance  Competitor reviews  Which tech stack to use?  Prioritizing roadmap  Usability / process flows

Many Investors Will Tell You
to Bring on Experienced Team Early. Don’t.

Hire People Who Punch Above
Their Weight Class http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/03/17/whom-should-you-hire-at-a-startup-attitude-over- aptitude/

Your First Sales Reps Should
Be Evangelical & Consultative (versus relationship managers) Not Not http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/10/12/startup-sales-why-hiring-seasoned-reps-may-not-work/ http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/04/08/journeymen-mavericks-superstars-understanding-salespeople-at-startups/

Engineering needs three distinct management
skills: people, process, & technology leadership http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/want-to-know-difference-between-a-cto-and-a-vp-of-engineering/

Many Startups Have Too Many
C’s. They Are Usually a Fudge For Co-Founders to Feel Good About 1 Founder Becoming CEO http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/09/12/why-your-startup-doesnt-need-a-coo/ http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/09/17/further-thoughts-on-startup-operations/

Functional Responsibilities Help Better Divide
Work & Make People Accountable. CEO CEO VP VP VP VP VP VP VP VP VP VP VP VP Engineering Engineering Product Product Sales Sales Marketing Marketing Finance Finance Biz Dev Biz Dev I am reluctant to see “president” or “COO”

A to B Round (when
you’re ready to scale)

Most Founders Get Bogged Down
in Minutiae. You Can Get Huge Benefit from an Office Manager who Doubles as an Admin http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2011/10/28/the-controversial-first-role-to-hire-after-your-a-round/

Hire a VP of Finance
– Look for Somebody Who Can Help with Ops, Legal, HR, Office Space, etc

Board Construction  Limit number
of VCs on the board  Be very careful about board observers. They are the equivalent of board members.  Limit management officially on the board – makes changes over time too difficult.  You can assign your founder seats to startup ceos if you’re worried about control (you control seat)  Strong industry independents on board – but make them write small checks to be committed. http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2009/10/14/when-the-board-of-a-startup-votes-theres-a-problem/ http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2012/08/16/rethinking-board-observers-the-role-of-the-silent-observer/ http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2012/08/15/should-you-really-sit-on-other-boards-when-youre-a-startup-founder/

</Good Luck> Mark Suster Startup
Grind , February 2013 @msuster ; BothSidesoftheTable.com