Lockdown has changed the entire corporate ecosystem & employer-employee relationship. With layoffs, furloughs & pay cuts taking center stage, professionals & employees are exploring alternative career opportunities- starting up, side hustle or joining start-ups at leadership /co-founder level. According to a recent research, 90% of the start-ups fail & not having a right partner/folks at leadership level is considered to be one of the main culprits. Human Capital is the most important aspect for success of start-ups
If you’re looking to explore leadership/co-founder role with budding start-ups, the following are key aspects to be considered:
Joining an early stage start-up at co-founding/leadership level is like an arranged marriage. A misfit can lead to debacle. It is important for a start-up to choose your co-founding team wisely. Likely, professionals/budding entrepreneurs looking to add your start-up tag in their career portfolio should evaluate a venture in terms of a strategic, aesthetic & cultural fit instead of just mapping skill & competency. The following guide will help you evaluating & making an appropriate decision in joining a start-up:
- Can you fill in the skill & competency gap: Look for a venture that is missing out on skills & competencies you have. A diverse skill set is really critical for the success of a company. Start-ups look for a partner who strikes a balance & provides a sanity check on all the technical & business decisions that need to be taken. Consider a business case where a start-up needs particular skills you have & list down what you can bring to the table that can help them solve their pain point. A lot of start-ups would evaluate you by giving you a real problem/challenge in hand & asking you develop a game plan how you can overcome that challenge/create opportunity.
- Founders look for people who share their entrepreneurial spirit & vision: Checking out with each other that you both are on the same page ( you & founder) in the journey is of vital importance. You both should be bound by close knit as far as vision & entrepreneurial spirit is concerned. You both should have faith in each other’s ideas even if they appear risky. You should have an environment of trust & positivity to create & drive creativity.
- Founders look for a partner without a lot of personal baggage: This is really important. When starting up, founders generally look for partners/founding team members who do not have much personal baggage &/or financial obligations given that in the initial months, start-ups do not make money.
- Start-ups look for folks who can offer credibility & resources to the business: I would like to explain this with an example of a renowned fitness venture. Its founders were good pals. One of them had deep knowledge about the global fitness arena having consulted a lot of fitness aspirants on their fitness goals. The other one had expertise in building up technology & mobile application & driving digital marketing initiatives. Their backstory helped them build credibility to their business & secure PR in early stages. Similarly, you should be able to offer some specific expertise that can act as critical success factor & offer resource/credibility for start-up in early stages
- Look out for a founder who is financially stable: Joining a start-up at quite an early stage is a risky proposition. There are good months & bad months & cash flow is always a cause of worry. You have no control if your client would pay on time & raising risk capital at ideation/product-market fit stage is herculean task.
- Value creation mindset: You should also consider the fact that in start-ups you do not draw salary but earn salary. Your salary component should meet your sustenance . You should focus on creating value capital appreciation for the entire venture on a long term basis.
If you think ,you’re ready for a complete change of direction & jump on start-up bandwagon, you can always call one of our career coach here.
