Subject – Founding Team
Background
Most professional investors; angel investors, VC’s and corporate investors consider the quality of the startup’s founding team as the most important factor for investment interest. Investors believe the quality of the team is more important than the quality of the startup’s intellectual property or the attractiveness of the targeted market.
Problem
Often first-time founders do not have a strong FOUNDING TEAM because the CEO may have assembled the founding team with several friends, professional acquaintances, or people who have pooled their talents, knowledge, around an exciting concept for a product or service, rather than formulating the founding team based on what a new company requires to materialize the concept, acquire investments, and operationally succeed. Sometime friends and co-workers may not have adequate knowledge and experience to hold executive positions even though they are co-founders. If the CEO gives unqualified co-founders executive position then this makes it difficult to add senior executives and attract investors. If initial co-founders do not make a strong team, then strategy has to be planned to build a strong team.
Solution
The founding team that is viewed to be a strong team that will attract talented people to join and is attractive to professional investors is a team that includes team members who possess competence in the core IP and a member who has knowledge and experience who understands the market and able to acquire customers. Below is an example of a strong founding team:
| Experience | Job Title |
|---|---|
| Business/Management | CEO |
| Engineering | CTO |
| Sales & Marketing | VP Sls/Mkt |