There is a famous anecdote about Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s tweet which made Ryan Graves a billionaire. The car-hailing company’s CEO’s tweet was for tips on finding an entrepreneurial product manager, the tip from Travis was ‘email me’ and the rest is history.
This may be a great way to connect with potential partners, but in a country like India, where diversity rules the day, how would one go about forming the core team. Two things will help you go about forming your core team.
Communicate clearly: Needless to say, your pitch needs to be perfect; more than perfect it needs to be clear. It should not only look at the vision, mission, and objective but also shed light on why someone should join you in building your vision. How successful the venture will become comes later, but why would someone plant the saplings with you needs to be defined in an unemotional manner, clearly.
Simply put, your plan/ pitch should:
- Clearly explain the vision and the steps to reach it
- Clearly explain the culture you are trying to build
- Clearly explain your working style and ethos of the company
Communication is the key, be it customers, employees or while looking for members for your core team.
Net worth your network: Today, who you know on a first name basis is a good indicator to where you stand. Social media platforms have just shrunk the world and it gives us ample opportunities to both network and scout for potential employees, partners, associates & keep an eye on competitors. You should reach out to all and sundry, everyone right from your school mate, who you never said ‘Hi’ to prior work colleagues, friends, family et al. You could reach them through personal meets, emails, Whatsapp, Linkedin, Facebook, messages etc. Do not shy away from anyone, as building your core team is more difficult than selling your product and your core team, in all probability, will make or break your company.
Networking platforms like Hackathons and Startup Weekend should be attended and used extensively to network and connect with professionals across the segment. This would really help reach to wider groups of people.
Last but not the least, keep experimenting and keep empowering people, people empowered would move your company forward.
