Teams

Most technical founders think the technology will be the most challenging part of building a successful Tough Tech startup. They soon realize, however, as their team begins to grow that it’s actually the people part that’s much harder. It’s not easy to hire the right people - and to transform a group of individuals into a high-functioning and productive team.

Tough Tech startups need systems and structures even on a team as small as two people. It’s much better to establish healthy patterns of management and communication before you begin to add lots of folks to the team. Once you hit about fifteen people on your team, you’ll experience a big transition - when you can’t all fit around the same table. It’s strategic to get ahead of this step growth and begin setting your team up for success from day one.

Culture isn’t just about foos ball tables - it’s about about aligning your team’s behaviors and attitudes. Even if you have a tiny team, it’s helpful to having a working draft of your values so that you have a shared understanding of what you expect on your team. Here' are some frameworks and template to help you:
Organizational design refers to how you cluster the people in your startup into teams and set up reporting structures. Although it’s tempting to design your organizational structure around personalities, try to think more about optimizing your human structures to help you achieve your business goals and to help communication flow effectively up, down, and throughout your organization. One final thought is to consider who you feel is the best person to make a tie-breaking decision and those people should be positioned above others.
Here are resources to help you think about the structure that’s right for your team now - and in the future:
It’s essential for early stage Tough Tech teams to get great at hiring - and quickly. It’s a huge cost in every way to the organization to get a hire wrong - and have to start over again. A rule of thumb is to never choose speed over accuracy with talent. It’s always worth it to wait for the right person - even if you have to hobble along until you find a strong match culturally and technically for your team.
Here are some frameworks and tools to help you add top talent to your organization:
There is overwhelming evidence that the more you invest in creating a thoughtful onboarding experience for new employees, the more engaged they are in their work and the longer they stay in your organization. Investing in an onboarding system is good for your team - and your bottom line. Here are some frameworks and tools to help you:
Being a great manager is about helping other people shine. To build a great team you first need to know the individuals well and understand what motivates them. Once you know each member of your team’s strengths and areas for growth, it become possible to build an extraordinarily high-functioning team. Here are some guides and tools to help you:
The research is clear that an effective onboarding experience can help your new team members become more productive and engaged faster. Folks who have had a thoughtful onboarding also stay longer in your organization, too. It’s an important investment in the short-term and long-term to create a scalable and customizable system to bring top talent onto your team.
Here are some guides and template to help you: