If they can do this, it may lead to a start-up similar to that of three founding members in Israel who had a strong background in computer science, strategy consulting, biomedical engineering research and entrepreneurship. They had served in the army together and, during that time, formed close ties. In 2015 their start-up was sold to Microsoft for 320 million USD.
Assembling a founding team for success
You need to consider the right mix. An article on the website of the INSEAD business school focuses on what is already known as regards the pre-start-up phase of team creation.
Beware of relationship problems
The majority of new venture teams fail. Very often the cause of failure is the emergence of interpersonal issues among the founders. Founders must learn how to work together, stay cohesive and face challenges they couldn’t have foreseen. There are certain milestones in the early stages of a start-up that create conflict, e.g. funding or product development. This initial phase is highly chaotic and brings a lot of stress. As a result of this, the team itself becomes even more important.
Investors often focus on the team
Investors are starting to focus more on the entrepreneurial team than on the idea or product. An initial concept is expected to undergo many changes and developments anyway. A team, however, if it is strong, will stick together during difficult times and navigate the company and its product through a very turbulent journey.
-jk-