112. The three stages of start-up teams

Tech for Non-Techies

A tech start-up begins its life with a tiny team. The founders are either technical or tech savvy, but as the company scales its team has to change.

Learn about the three stages of start-up team growth here.

Learning notes from this episode:

• At stage 1, the start-up is focussed on building its first product and getting the first customers. The team is usually tiny, and each team member is either building the technology themselves or is very closely involved in the process. Everyone learns from each other on the job.
• At stage 2, the start-up has raised Series A or Series B and is focussed on scaling. This is when specialists in non-technical fields start getting hired: HR experts, sales people etc. The gap between the techies and the non-techies widens, and this is where opportunities get lost.
• At stage 3, the start-up is a late stage venture and is either preparing for a merger or an IPO. At this point, the original founder is very unlikely to be the CEO. According to analysis by Harvard Business School professor Noam Wasserman:

“by the time the ventures were three years old, 50% of founders were no longer the CEO; in year four, only 40% were still in the corner office; and fewer than 25% led their companies’ initial public offerings.”

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Harvard Business Review: The Founders' Dilemma by Noam Wasserman

Join the The Non-Technical Founders Introduction to Tech workshop

You will learn:

• The framework for how to go from idea to live product
• Product management fundamentals
• How to work with developers effectively
• How and when to hire a product team

Listen here on Apple Podcasts Listen here on Spotify

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