One of the aspects that most attracts the attention of an accelerator when selecting a startup in its calls is the strength of its founders, because mediocre teams do not build great companies.
Keep in mind that becoming a great leader of a company and knowing how to choose an appropriate work table is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to entrepreneurship.
What characterizes a great founder?
There are several skills that define a founder and investors recognize this at a glance when they study their personality. In general, these are the best profiles...
- They are unstoppable
- They have great determination
- They are resourceful and resourceful
- They are intelligent and driven by their passion
- They have good communication skills
- They demonstrate responsiveness: this indicates decisiveness, focus, intensity, and execution.
What should you consider when teaming with co-founders?
The startup market is very fluctuating and the value of your business idea may rise or fall many times, so you need to have the right team in place to meet those challenges. Some of Sam Altman 's recommendations are as follows....
1. It's important to build a connection even outside of work.
Bad relationships are the main cause of death of a startup and they happen very often. Especially when the founders met only to create the company.
It is important to build a close relationship with your co-founder beyond work, because this way you will both want to fight for the same goal. Remember that in the best case you will have a good partner by your side, otherwise it is more viable to stay as a lone wolf running the company.
2. When things don't work out you have to separate quickly
If you see the arguments do not stop and you definitely realize that it is not working, it is better to react quickly and cut. In such cases it is crucial to establish the equity split early and fairly.
You should also add another person to the table and give him or her shares of the company to avoid deadlocks when there is conflict between team founders.
3. Co-founders may have contradictory traits.
It is common to believe that a team complements each other because they think alike or have the same strengths. However, you don't have to get a co-founder exactly like you to make things work. Sometimes traits that are opposites complement each other very well, for example, rigidity and flexibility.
4. They should be able to create and drive the product on their own.
Something that attracts a lot of attention from accelerators and investors is that the founders have a previous training that helps them to build and drive the product on their own.
It is necessary that one of you knows how to develop the business idea and the other is an expert in sales and user management.
5. The best leaders never stop learning
At all times it is important that you have strong convictions about the core of the company and its mission, but you should also be very flexible and willing to learn new things all the time. This is one of the characteristics that most identifies inspiring leaders.
Contribution created with contributions from: Omar Daniel Centeno and María Camila Pulido.
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