Within the first 48 hours of using Launchrock, GRAPPPLE received over 200 individual signups. But which should come first? Launchrock or “The Dream Team”?
First, you need The Team.
As a young entrepreneur who has launched a few ideas on LaunchRock, I can say from experience that great ideas will have a much better chance at success when they are backed by a similarly great team. No matter how incredibly genius an idea is, the world won’t respond to a poorly executed idea that is quickly splattered on a landing page, shared on Facebook or Tweeted a few times. Ideas are nothing more than ideas until you execute. Words of wisdom from successful entrepreneurs like Steve Blank and Dan Martellconclude, the team is just as important if not more then the “idea” or “technology” your company is based on. Here are my 4 keys to building a Dream Team of talented individuals that form a well-rounded, idea implementation machine.
- Step 1. Understand yourself
- Step 2. Network
- Step 3. Look beyond talent
- Step 4. Start the Magic
Step 1: Understand yourself
This is one of the hardest parts for most and it’s time to get out of denial. What are your weaknesses? You’re not going to be able turn your idea into action by yourself. You need to focus on finding a team that compliments your strengths and overlaps your deficiencies. If you’ve had prior career success in sales and marketing, realize that you need to partner with technical and design expertise to collaborate and build the product. Don’t outsource your team! It’s a major mistake, money pit, and you’re ignoring the most important part of a startup, the team. Building a startup isn’t a linear process, it’s full of pivots with ups and down and constant changes and you’re all going to need to be there together to succeed.
Step 2: Network
You’re dating, you’re seeking a partner(s) to get in bed with your idea. Just as you would go about finding your soulmate, attend events where you’re more likely to meet the skills and experience you’re looking for. Meaning if you need an awesome designer, don’t waste your time looking for referrals at the weekly PHP meetup. Go to Meetup.com or Eventbrite and find events that designers will attend. Also, keeping your ideas as “top secret” is amateurish. The more people you share it with the better. Why? You’re going to learn and receive a whole lot of help along the way. Won’t someone steal it? No, the hardest part of any idea is making it reality. You’re the one with the passion and if it’s a good idea you’ll get referrals to create it faster then anyone else.
Step 3: Look beyond talent
Team building on steroids takes place every weekend at hackathons and Startup Weekends. Go to one, and actively participate even if it’s not your idea. At the event, PLEASE don’t be the one who is looking for free development hours or free marketing help. People are not machines and don’t abuse the younger generations. You need to work in order to earn the respect of others. On the other hand, I would recommend profiling those you speak to about joining your team. It’s obvious that you want the most talented individuals, but if you’re making a product for those who love going outside, don’t waste time trying to convince the engineer who spends their free time on Xbox 360. Another common problem is finding potential teammates who are content working for Google, Oracle, Facebook etc. Realize, entrepreneurship isn’t in their blood, and move on. They won’t join you until you’re the top story onHacker News. Most importantly, look for the passion. When you first tell them your idea, look for their fire to start and if it doesn’t ignite, move on quickly. Down the line, when it comes to reaching a milestone the passionate ones will be those joining you for 12+ hour days to complete it.
Step 4: Start the Magic
The magic of the startup “dream team” is when you first get together. During our first meeting, I laid out the original idea and we ripped it apart for a week. Out from the brainstorming mess of whiteboards came the gem of an MVP (minimum viable product) produced by all of us: GRAPPPLE. Afterwards, keep the magic alive by giving everyone ownership of the product and their role within the team. It also helps to get recognition for the team’s progress wherever you can whether the local newspaper, contests, Reddit, etc.
Meet the GRAPPPLE Team:
We came together in January and were one of the winners at Startup Weekend San Luis Obispo. Fast forward a few months, one pivot, and after 1,200+ hours of work producing 25,000+ lines of code we launched our alpha just a few weeks ago. This summer we’ve been invited to the SLO Hothouse accelerator and we’ll be launching our beta soon!
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Garrett Lauringson, Co-Founder of GRAPPPLE, a web and mobile application inspiring the world to accomplish their goals & share their achievements through connected communities. You can follow Garrett @GLsmoove.
