TEAM: THE POWER OF TWO

Team Building Challenges for Start-ups

Sujit Panigrahi, Co-founder and CTO

Why create a Start-up?

Predicting the Future

The best way to predict the future is to create it

Peter Drucker

Phases of Entrepreneurship?

• Phase I : Before Starting out (Go-no-go)

• Phase II: Early Days (1000 day test!)

• Phase III: Sustainability (10 year test!)

• Phase IV: Taking it Forward (>10 years)

• Remember: there is no exit !!!

Entrepreneurship is like a Marathon (with many short sprints).

Be ready to run that far!

Step 1: Idea to Business

• Identify the following:

– Idea (Product, Service, Innovation, Supply Chain, Social Problem, Rural, etc.)

– Customers/Prospects

– Market size and industry forces

– Understand how company and your technology/value proposition will work

– Project into the future

• Evaluate all Opportunities

– Pick the Idea that you are Passionate about

– Are your Close Friends also equally excited about the Value Proposition? Get Feedback from the Sample Customer Base

– Once you are convinced, take your Idea to the Next Stage

Step 2: Investor vs Customer

What comes first: Investor or Customer?

• Customer look for:– Product or Service (Prototype/Blueprint)– Team/Delivery Capabilities

• Investors Look For:– Team– Team – Team– Market– Product or Service (Prototype/Blueprint)

Step 3: Building a Team

Association

Imagination

Association

Association

Association

Association

Association

Step 3: Building a Team

• What I am capable of?

• What I can get from Team Mates?

• What I/we can improve upon?

Step 4: Building a Team

• Organization Trust

– Principle of Alignment

• Choose Your Leader | Trust Him

• Core Team (Complementary vs Similarity)

• Employees

• Market Trust

– Principle of Reputation (Customers, Competitors, Suppliers)

• Societal Trust

– Principle of Contribution/Giving Back

Value #1: Trust

Brand = Σ (Residue after a transaction is made) = [Delivery –Promise] x Trust

Step 3: Building a Team

Core 4: Results

Core 2: Intent

Core 3: Capabilities

Core 1: Integrity Character

Competence

Results

Value #2: Credibility

Step 4: Making it Grow (1000 days)

• Growing Business

– Recruitment/Building the Team vs Outsourcing

– Vendor/Partner Selection

– Skill Building

– People are leaving you

– Back-up Plans

• Facing the Heat

– You went through a major Financial Crisis

– Market is growing and you are not/Market has crashed

– Working Capital Issues/You want to expand, but there is shortage of funds

– Customers did not Pay

– Outplacing People

– Back-up Plan

Talk StraightDemonstrate

RespectCreate

TransparencyRight Wrongs

Show Loyalty Deliver Results Get Better Confront Reality

Clarify Expectations

Practice Accountability

Listen FirstKeep

Commitments

Extend Trust

Step 4: Making it Grow (1000 days)

work with people who value

Credibility. Trust.

believe in simplyCT