2 25 14 Chapter 8 The Founding Team The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can t find them make them George Bernard Shaw Teams better for success Shared intense effort required by a startup Loss of one member less likely to result in start up abandonment Team concept permits expertise across major functional areas marketing finance operations Skilled team leads credibility to the startup Entrepreneur s Network Service agency Governmental agencies Sales support Manufacturing support Consultants Benchmark for effective team Shared vision between the lead entrepreneur and the team Shared passion Industry experience Solid industry contacts Functional areas of business are represented Team members have solid credit ratings Team members have time money and physical stamina to endure startup constraints Special Issues for High Tech Teams Funding is usually thought angels and venture capital Founding team usually consists of scientists engineers with little sales marketing or business management experience This type of venture usually requires professional management outside of the founding team Investors typically helps with rounding out the functional areas of the founding team Bringing on professional management at startup Advisory Board Consists of a panel of experts interested in the new venture s success Mentor Board Entrepreneur s personal board who serve as coach advisor personal professional mentors Safe haven for entrepreneurs to air their fears dreams etc Outsourcing with Independent Contractors Employees are usually the single biggest expense of any business Independent contractors IC own their own businesses avoid paying medical benefits payroll taxes ICs are hired by the entrepreneur to do a specific job doesn t have control over IC Hidden costs can affect the new venture s business cost of searching for and contracting the right IC cost getting the IC to up the speed There are very strict rules defining an employee vs an independent contractor
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