The Management Team

Abstract

Along with the culture the management team is probably the most important success factor. As we explained in Chapter 6 when we discussed the role of the founder, the founders have to let go control to make the company become more successful. Bringing a lot of energy to the table is great, but unfortunately it is not enough. You will need experience. It is not that you cannot do it, it is that somebody is doing it better. Somebody who has done it before, will be able to make quicker decisions, interact better with customers and so forth. Only an experienced team will be able to create the momentum. You need a team with experience both in the specific niche the company is after and experience in how to manage fast growth. Dilute your equity if you have to in order to bring in an experienced senior management team as early as possible. Make sure to spend enough time, energy, and money on hiring those people and always keep in mind that it is one of the most important things to do. Do research, dig around, talk to everybody you know, pull together lots of names and contacts to find these people. They are tremendously important to your venture since they can leverage it into a really great company.

In a fast moving world the thing that really matters is who is driving. Who is driving the car. Because you are going to have S-curves in the road, you are going to have animals crossing the road and you are going to have speed limits. (John Hamm, Whistle Communications)