Building a Team in a High Growth Startup

B ased on my experience in the startup world, there are three fundamental requirements even to start thinking about becoming unicorn which is what I am going to explore in this article. First companies must have a robust value system to enable the growth of the organization. Second companies must hire the right people for their product and industry. Lastly, companies must have a product/service that works and a support mechanism to ensure high levels of support for their product/service. Over the weekend, my family and I went to a zip line adventure park called TreeUmph!, which got me thinking about these three requirements and how they relate to the software industry.

A reliable value system is like having a strong foundation for your house; your value system needs to support your entire organization. Building out a strong value system is not easy, and it gets even more difficult as organizations begin to grow. While I was navigating the obstacles at TreeUmph!, there were defined values as you walk up to the check-in area: “We inspire fun and a sense of pride through adventure.” Hmmm, this was inviting, interesting and exciting all at the same time. As a follow-up to this statement, the organization went to great lengths to ensure the safety and security of all customers. Fun and pride were splashes on their walls; however, safety and security are ingrained into everything the organization did for their customers – it is a matter of life and death (however the employees never make you feel this was).

When building out your values, ensure that you are thinking about both your employees and your customers. As you are establishing your values, do they align with your product or service? An organization’s value needs to be managed and lived from the top of the organization. As your organization grows, having a healthy value system will ensure that you can hire and enable the value system. You may have a great product or service; however, can your employees and customers explain it at a second’s notice?

Essential to an organization’s success is to hire and maintain the people that will drive the value system and growth of your organization. Through my experiences, I have seen the evolution of teams within organizations. These are not the easiest times as people will leave the organization and others will join – I think of this transition similar to a snake that will shed its skin throughout its lifetime. The team that you have during the first years of your company will not be the same team that you will have (or even need) as your company grows to 100 or 1000 people. Many people will want to label this as good or bad through these transitions, however what if we look at it as the natural progression of the company’s evolution?

At TreeUmph!, I noticed the employees focused on – Fun, Encouragement, and Safety/Security. Everyone that we encountered during our visit was very supportive and took time with us to ensure we were having a good time while being safe. The employees did not hesitate to remove someone from the course if they were acting safely as this could have not only injured them but others around them on the course. On the hardest level (5), the guides were very encouraging while providing very specific instructions on how to progress through the obstacles. While I struggled to compete for level 5, the guide helped me finish while having fun.

Throughout my startup career, I have seen many organizational changes, including people, departments, functions, etc. – there is no single formula for the right mix of people and processes. When building out your team, ensure the employees understand the position of the company and the effort/work required at your current stage of growth. Startup companies are not for the faint of heart; it sounds glorious; however, there are many (many) long days/nights and sacrifices to have the opportunity to be successful.

The product/service that you provided needs to work, period, especially in the technology world today. Selling and marketing in the software industry have become extremely challenging as many companies have the same value proposition, and everyone is fighting for the same dollar. The easiest way to grow your organization is through “raving” fans of your product or service. During the sales process (whatever that process looks like) you are promising value in exchange for money.

During our time at TreeUmph!, I look back to if we had fun and were proud of our accomplishments. We all had a good time and felt as though we had accomplished our goal of finishing the levels of the obstacle course – mission accomplished!

Everyone knows that your product/service will not be perfect; however, how do you support your customers during times of challenge? Every interaction is important, and are you providing adequate support to ensure success for your customer and your organization?

Being a part of a high-growth startup organization is exciting and exhilarating, however, it is not for everyone. There is risk/reward around every corner, and it is up to the organization to ensure they are establishing a strong working culture (that can grow), assemble the best team to execute the vision, and deliver the product/service to their customers.

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