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Who is your dream team: the people you need in a start-up? If you are thinking of starting a business; you will need people who will help you to build the business and keep it going. Just like the people you need in your personal life, you need a team to help you develop the business to its full potential. Here are the 4 people that you need to help you prepare and develop your business.
The Creative / Innovator / Concept-Oriented
You need a person who is very creative and can dream up new ideas. This person has a vision for what the product can do and where it will take the business. This person may also be an innovator. The Innovator is someone who is able to take an existing product or idea and turn it into something new. Or by adding or changing a component they can come up with a new product or service. They are usually risk-takers who are not afraid to try out new things.
These people don’t only have a concept in mind; they also have an idea of how a product can benefit both the business and its customers. It is important that this person also has good communication skills. This will help other members of the team to understand their ideas clearly. Often, they are in-charge of product conceptualization and design. They also play a significant role in actual product creation.
As a visionary, they are the people who can keep the team on track when the business hits roadblocks. Their creativity and innovative nature are key factors in helping the business find solutions to issues. They are an important member of your dream team, the people you need in your start-up.
The Doer / Builder / Detail-Oriented
The Doer will work with the creative person to work out the specifics of the product. Therefore, they are detail-oriented and puts in the time to research on the information needed to help build the product. They are the one’s who will figure out the specific components of the product or service offering. The main focus of this role is to plan the details and create a blueprint for the product or service; and eventually to build it by incorporating all the components they have identified.
Being detail-oriented, this person will ensure that the requirements have been meet before the creation process starts. They will also focus on ensuring the quality of the product as they build it. These people will have great technical skills, are problem solvers and are passionate about learning as they work. They are usually tech-savvy too. Some of them may be a generalist, with good competence in many fields. Or they may be excellent in their field of specialization. They see the big picture like the visionary. Just as easily, they can drill down on the details and build the product or implement the steps to make a concept work.
With their eye for detail, they will be able to exchange ideas with the creative. Together, they can come up with the best combination of ideas and components to help build the final product. They can also give practical advise to the creative. Their focus is to help ensure that the product or service is feasible for production and is produced in the best quality.
The Processor / Task Master / Process-Oriented
A business has many components working all at once. In a start-up dream team, someone has to be good at overseeing all the processes and assigning tasks accordingly. They need to ensure that the operations are efficient and that goods and services are delivered on time.
Like the builder, they are also detail-oriented. They apply their talent to creating systems that make the business operations smoother for all parties involved. Also very technical-oriented; they see the requirements for each department or unit in the business.
They also need to have a creative side. This helps them anticipate and piece together the different pieces of the business system that they need to create. These individuals are highly organized and are also visionary in nature. They are mainly in-charge of making sure that each part of the business is working properly; from top to bottom, start to finish. Usually impatient and very deadline-oriented; they still need to keep an open mind. They should be ready to spot-correct at any time for any troubles that may come along the way. You may think of them as slave drivers sometimes, but for your dream team, they are one of the people you need in your start-up.
The Connector / Sales Master / Social-Oriented
Businesses need to connect with their material suppliers, third-party service providers and other partners. One of the people needed in a start-up is someone who can communicate with external partners and maintain a stable relationship with them.
Most of these people are good networkers. They also have a flair for sales. One of their tasks is to convince potential partners to work with the company. They need to be able to “sell” the brand to other people. They also have a large network of people on their contact list as they are naturally sociable by nature.
These types of people are often extroverted and are not shy to introduce themselves to other people. They are also quite confident and naturally curious. One of their talents is to find out information without being too prying. A casual conversation could lead to an information mining session with this person. An important member of a start-up dream team; they can help expand the business thru partnerships and other external resources.
Depending on the nature of your business, these are some of the people that you need in your start-up dream team. Consider having a mix of both generalists and specialists in these roles as they can learn from each other. You don’t necessarily have to assign an individual team member for each role. You may start-up this way, but eventually, you will grow so that one member may head the business unit that fulfills each role.
It is important that these people collaborate with each other well. After all, you will end up spending more time with them as the business grows. You may notice that almost everyone on this list share similar attributes of being creative, detail-oriented in different areas, being open-minded and having a willingness to learn new things. Also, keep in mind that as a small team, you may end up with overlapping roles or even swapping roles from time to time. You may even be working on different aspects of each of these roles.
Another thing to consider when starting-up a business is to ensure that your organization has the characteristics of successful start-ups. This way, your business will be able to sustain its operations and fulfill your team’s goals for a long time.
Feature Image: Original Photo by Antonio Janeski on Unsplash.
