3 Steps to Building a Startup Team That Scales 🚀

Read time: 4 min

Every good startup begins with a great idea and, with any luck, an even greater team 💪 But finding your tribe takes time and considerable forward thinking.

Allow me to share 3 steps to start building a dream team that scales…

Step 1: Map out your structure strategically

If there’s one thing I could say to the startup founders I meet, it’s this: the foundation of a scalable team lies in your foresight and imagination as a leader.

Even just one executive role can take one year to fill, and missing any key role during a growth phase can be devastating for a company.

Instead, map out the skills, positions, and leadership you envision your organization needing even as far as 18 months in the future.

Action points:

• Draw out a future org chart 🗺️
  And get visual with it, pinpointing the key roles and leadership positions needed to achieve your goals. Don’t forget to consider which markets you'll enter, product lines you'll launch, and the management team that will take the lead.

• Conduct some talent gap analysis 🔍
  Identify what your team is missing right now: who might you develop internally, and which roles might require external talent acquisition? More on that below…

Step 2: Cultivate as much internal talent as you can

The backbone of a high-growth startup is its ability to develop its existing team, first and foremost because a culture of continuous improvement and professional development lends itself to growth. What’s more, staying true to your tribe of OGs also solidifies its values and ethos.

Here I’d recommend Robert Glazer's book "Elevate", and encourage anyone you work with to take his quiz — it’s a great tool to identify strengths and weaknesses in a team.

Action points:

1. Establish mentorship initiatives 🤝
   Pair emerging talents with experienced leaders! This is a super efficient way to transfer knowledge and accelerate professional growth, creating a win-win scenario for both mentors and mentees.

2. Invest in leadership training for your people 🧑‍🎓
   Most leaders don’t want to lead forever, so part of your job is to nurture those in your ranks. You can get them qualified from a theoretical perspective, while also exposing them to greater challenges as the startup scales.

Step 3: Set very high standards when scouting externally

The caliber of your hires sets the tone for your company's future, so aim for A players.

The get the cream of the crop, look for people who:

1. Are on the cusp of their career for whom you will be their “big break”.

2. Can cope with the ambiguity (and, let’s face it, chaos) startup life brings.

3. Bring diversity in terms of opinions and background — this will flesh out your own company culture.

4. Possess innate capabilities that will make them successful in this role, even if they lack some experience.

Action points:

1. Go ruthless with your hiring practices 🕵️
   Develop a meticulous selection process that will adequately sort the wheat from the chaff.

2. Optimize your onboarding flow 🏃
   Make bringing in new hires seamless so they can hit the ground running, getting them up to speed on all things operational, but also philosophical. Don’t be shy to dive deep on your strategic goals, mission, values, etc.

Conclusion

Your team is your foundation — so take the time to make it as solid as it can.

Also, I know it’s easier said than done, but don’t get caught up in the day-to-day of putting out fires: maintain strategic oversight, plan for the future, and lead with an understanding of where you want your startup to go. Bringing on the right people will get you there.

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Happy scaling,

Yoann Berno