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Your team probably isn’t “world-class” by conventional standards and that’s ok!
Overselling a startup’s team, especially at the seed stage, can make founders look naive and counter-intuitively hurt their chances at fundraising.
Here’s why it’s dangerous:
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Overselling a startup’s team, especially at the seed stage, can make founders look naive and counter-intuitively hurt their chances at fundraising.
Here’s why it’s dangerous:
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The VC you’re talking to likely knows some truly world-class teams.
They might sit on the board with polished execs from the big tech companies.
They’ve backed founders who now have $100M+ revenue businesses.
In short, they’ve seen elite performance up close.
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They might sit on the board with polished execs from the big tech companies.
They’ve backed founders who now have $100M+ revenue businesses.
In short, they’ve seen elite performance up close.
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Applying a superlative claim to someone whose resume is superficially ordinary is going to cause investors to question how good a judge of talent you really are.
And it’s a mug’s game anyway – Many founder’s honest assessments of their teams would be...
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And it’s a mug’s game anyway – Many founder’s honest assessments of their teams would be...
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“Our team is talented, but some might struggle to get a job at Google. However, we have high clock speeds, low personal burn rates, a big vision, and small egos that allow us to work on an unglamorous project with hopes to change the world–or at least make a Magic Quadrant.”
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The textbook example of this is WhatsApp founder Brian Acton. He was rejected by Twitter *and* Facebook before building one of the most valuable companies of the decade!
https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2014/02/19/he-wanted-a-job-facebook-said-no-in-a-3-billion-mistake/#5966c3275244
Here’s what to do instead of defaulting to hackneyed talking points:
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeanders/2014/02/19/he-wanted-a-job-facebook-said-no-in-a-3-billion-mistake/#5966c3275244
Here’s what to do instead of defaulting to hackneyed talking points:
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Showcase 3rd Party Validation (Shamelessly)Show off your team’s record of achievements using logos where possible. These can be legacy credentials (Harvard MBAs, Apple Design Awards, etc.) or modern achievements (Github stars, Instagram followers, and so on.)
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Educate the AudienceYou may actually have some world-class talent on your team, but in most cases, the world doesn’t recognize it yet!
If you’ve got legit all-stars from the fringes of culture, or at the coalface of a new technology, take the time to make that clear.
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Precision > PretensionAvoid gaudy pronouncements and focus on nitty-gritty details about specific achievements:
https://twitter.com/josephflaherty/status/1223356552591151104
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Create “inceptable” one-liners for each team member.Craft a “tagline” that summarizes the career achievements for each member of the team that is designed to lodge in the heads of VCs such that it’s what they repeat at partner meetings.
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Remember, the best teammate is progressIf your startup is growing rapidly, and you are making notable progress between meetings, the US News & World Report ranking of your alma mater, or title at your last gig will recede in importance.
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Recruiting a team is something to be proud of.
You should be proud of the team you built.
If all goes well, you’ll eventually be referred to as a “mafia.”
But "World-class" is an adjective to apply *after* you succeed, not before.
/End
You should be proud of the team you built.
If all goes well, you’ll eventually be referred to as a “mafia.”
But "World-class" is an adjective to apply *after* you succeed, not before.
/End
