When you’re building a company from nothing, you need to be aware of the skills and expertise you lack. This may seem like a heavy focus on the negative, but if you’re not aware of your weaknesses, you won’t know what type of people you need to bring onto your team in order to grow your venture.
This was just one of this month’s #MillennialTreps Twitter Chat focus. Along with co-host U.S. Small Business Administration, this month’s chat delved into ‘How do you build a great startup team?’
Here are some of our favorite responses.
Q1: How do I find the right co-founder? #MillennialTreps
MT @fortiviti Make sure a partner is right for your business or idea. #MillennialTreps http://t.co/0CVvjITkgK… — Studio Rd (@studio_rd) June 23, 2015
@SBAgov A1: Seek someone that has skills that you lack but make sure you can stay the course; View it as a marriage #MillennialTreps — 1MillionCupsHOU (@1MillionCupsHOU) June 23, 2015
@SBAgov @KauffmanFS Q1: Depends on your startup idea, but @StartupWeekend has been great for some. #MillennialTreps — Brad Chapman (@bradjchapman) June 23, 2015
@SBAgov A1: Integrate yourself in your startup community. Attend events like @1millioncups, @StartupWeekend, etc. #MillennialTreps — Nicholas L. Norfolk (@absolut_zer0) June 23, 2015
Q2: How do I know what people I need to bring on to my team? #MillennialTreps
Hiring the right team is a mix between art & science: http://t.co/geHjcvD9ue #MillennialTreps #startup https://t.co/au6QJ5fNV5 — The UPS Store (@TheUPSStore) June 23, 2015
A2: #MillennialTreps @BTTRVentures decided to focus on their strengths and hire others to address their weaknesses http://t.co/lD38KpCD3V — Hitachi Foundation (@HitachiFdn) June 23, 2015
@SBAgov A2: Hire against your weaknesses; always have a business person and an attorney on your team #MillennialTreps — TeneciaNicole (@TeneciaNicole) June 23, 2015
A2 If u can afford a small team, start with complementary skills, Bus. Dev, Technical, Marketing, Operations, Project Man. #MillennialTreps — Bill Pontikakis (@BillPontikakis) June 23, 2015
Q3: What resources are out there to help find the best human capital/talent? #MillennialTreps
@1millioncups Great connection point for energy and ideas - keep on. #MillennialTreps https://t.co/xELnFXHuyo — Lucas Shivers (@adaptinstruct) June 23, 2015
A3: You can find new talent on startup networking & matchmaking websites #MillennialTreps — SBA (@SBAgov) June 23, 2015
@SBAgov A3: I think a good resource is social media. You can use any network to start to build relationships. #MillennialTreps — Nicholas L. Norfolk (@absolut_zer0) June 23, 2015
Q4: What pitfalls of hiring do I need to watch out for? #MillennialTreps
A4: Be careful about giving equity away in order to avoid paying an early employee. Is this the best long-term decision? #MillennialTreps — Founders School (@KauffmanFS) June 23, 2015
@TeneciaNicole @KauffmanFS Listening during an interview is key. Stop talking! #MillennialTreps — Fortiviti (@Fortiviti) June 23, 2015
A4 Great pitfall would be to hire people that cannot collaborate in teams & that cannot acquire new skills & handle stress #MillennialTreps — Bill Pontikakis (@BillPontikakis) June 23, 2015
@SBAgov A4: Vet people... people aren't always who they appear to be. Make sure they are the right fit before you commit #MillennialTreps — TeneciaNicole (@TeneciaNicole) June 23, 2015
Q5: How do I keep employees motivated towards our company's purpose? #MillennialTreps
@SBAgov A5: Make the mission bigger than company. When they know they're working for something bigger they'll keep going #MillennialTreps — TeneciaNicole (@TeneciaNicole) June 23, 2015
Build a great company culture! Here are 7 tips to help: http://t.co/d6WIHFEwIW #MillennialTreps https://t.co/qKltnuEWWZ — The UPS Store (@TheUPSStore) June 23, 2015
@TheKLC Ideas = Engage unusual voices; Work across factions; Start where they are; Speak to loss. #MillennialTreps https://t.co/YeotbeWBko — Lucas Shivers (@adaptinstruct) June 23, 2015
A5: @Danielpink offers great advice on motivating employees in this series http://t.co/pJL2uGM86m #MillennialTreps pic.twitter.com/yCjxHY9t0a — Founders School (@KauffmanFS) June 23, 2015
Thanks for everyone’s participation, and we look forward to hearing from you more in future Twitter chats. To see the full list of tweets, check out #MillennialTreps on Twitter and follow @KauffmanFS to see when we’ll be having our chat next month and what topic we'll be discussing.
Want to see what happened during our last Twitter chats? Check out:
Twitter Chat Ignites Discussion Obstacles Facing Millennial Entrepreneurs
Millennials Twitter Chat Discusses Relevance of Business Plans, Whether to Co-Found or Not