How do we need to look for a person that will be striving to build up the idea we initially found? Who could be the best partner for long years of trying to bring our product to the market? Since most Venture Capitalists state that the team is more important than the idea, how to find this crucial, priceless piece to add to your enterprise? It looks like it’s not about the skills at all. It’s not as easy as choosing person that is good at coding when you need programer in a team. What is really important then while looking for the cofounders with whom you will spend long hours every day for the incoming decade?
It’s good to have vision and your own understanding of what actually is a team. You need to know what kind of company you want to build, what direction it should go and what mission is your driving force. Once you have the picture firm enough you can start searching. Otherwise, you can end up with people that are not really doing what you planned and it’s not really in line with what you feel is the shape of your business.
1. Passion and shared vision when it comes to the product is the thing you need to see in people you talk to while recruiting. Since you know exactly what value you want to bring to the market through your company, you need to see the same vision and understanding in the eyes of the person in front of you. It’s ok when he has a few new ideas, it may help to develop the product, but the core must be matching your thoughts and plan for the company at least in 90%. Having the same vision and values may make your partnership successful, Otherwise, you will be questioning all actions of your partner not really agreeing on the direction he takes the company to.
Find someone who wants to work for you for some particular reason and not just because. Avoid ‘startup tourists‘ that just want to get into startup world thinking it’s super exciting and easy piece of cake. Take some time and talk to people.
2. Set up clear expectations but also leave some space for free and creative thinking. People need room and acceptance to evolve and put together some pieces of inspirations into real and concrete project. It takes time, they need to know for which skill you need them and they should do their job to keep the company going but let them spend time watering the seed which is growing in their minds, It may be another mind blowing idea which add extreme value to your company not changing at all the core you defined early on while building the vision.
3. Entrepreneurial mindset. It’s one of a few really important skills that is not so easy to learn. If someone is born to be an entrepreneur that’s lucky if you can invite this person to join your team. It’s not only needed on the management level, every single team member is supposed to have this particular way of thinking deeply rooted in their minds. That’s something that determines your actions, chats with people, networking, creating reports and even doing simple, daily routine-has-to-be-done stuff. You need a person who even without you, being not accepted, will still mingle in the environment and get into another business that surely better fits his expectations.
4. Ironically, the best is to have person that does not even have any particular skill but just has this intuition to pick up extraordinary and exceptional people from the crowd. It’s kind of charismatic personality that just attracts leaders and makes people like working for him. Watch people and try to see their talent. There are people that can easily see passion and talent in others and they love help developing this special thing in mentees. That’s awesome to have this kind of person around!
Choosing your partner in business is not easy and that’s good, it shouldn’t be, but it’s your biggest responsibility to not accept mediocrity but wait and search as long as until you found the person that will put his heart into your business. It may seems to be difficult but you will see from the first blink of an eye if someone is the one and truly share your values! It’s somehow visible and make you feel ‘I’m gonna make great things with this person! I’d love to work with him!‘.
