How do startups stay aligned as they grow?

Cyriac Roeding

Co-founder, CEO · Earli

Shared values

Cyriac Roeding says shared, inflexible values keep individually brilliant people aligned, since brilliant people in a room might otherwise clash; anyone who won't adhere must adapt or leave.

The answer starts at 38:45.

Andy Frisella

Chief Executive Officer · 1st Phorm International

Allow mistakes as learning

Andy Frisella says leaders should allow mistakes as learning, arguing that good-faith mistakes are an investment in the person's skill set and that you can't scale without giving others responsibility.

Andrea Baronchelli

Co-Founder & CEO · Aspire

Small cross-functional squads

Andrea Baronchelli says the practice is small cross-functional squads—independent multi-functional units deployed on new things—so teams stay lean, fast and entrepreneurial without depending on a large team's slower communication.

The answer starts at 22:43.

Dan Shipper

Co-founder & CEO · Every Inc.

Very small teams

Dan Shipper says teams should use very small teams of one or two people, calling it a "two slice team," because more people create coordination overhead and differing visions.

Shannon Byrne Susko

Founder & CEO · Metronomics

Daily huddles

Shannon Byrne Susko says daily huddles are part of the communication system that creates visibility and a strong feedback loop, which she says builds team accountability.

The answer starts at 22:38.

Andrew Capland

Founder & Head of Growth · Delivering Value

Growth strategy document

Andrew Capland says the first artifact he works on with coaching clients is formalizing a growth strategy document, because without something documented it’s nearly impossible to prioritize and teams end up at the whim of ideas thrown at them.

David R. Craig, MBA

Chief Executive Officer · Sarcomatrix

Open honest communication

David R. Craig, MBA says open honest communication—challenging each other to higher standards and being direct—can make a big difference, especially with a process to repair irritation, like Amjen's Friday seminars.

Ajay Natarajan

Co-Founder · Roadrunner

Build with people you like

Ajay Natarajan advises building with people you like, saying that building a team around you helps with the stress of startup life.

Alexander Estner

Founder | GTM advisor for B2B SaaS startups · Alex Estner

Weekly metric reviews

Alexander Estner says his practice is to measure progress weekly/monthly via GTM dashboards and reporting, and revisit priorities monthly after reviewing metrics, to see if they are on track and adapt the plan.

Jake Cooper

CEO & Co-Founder · Grow Therapy

Cascading vision and objectives

Jake Cooper says cascading top-line vision and objectives at the company, department and then team level has worked well for them, because it creates scaffolding for people to innovate within their core area.

Alex Konrad

Founder and Editor · Upstarts Media

Clearly define roles

Alex Konrad says clearly defining roles helps startup teams stay aligned, citing Pigment's co-CEOs, who carefully divided responsibilities by expertise and communicated whose role was whose.

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Todd Olson

CEO / Founder · Pendo.Io

Give teams time to experiment

Todd Olson says organizations should give their teams time and free them up to try new things, arguing that you'll see the gains later but need to do it first.

Kabir Siddiq

Founder & CEO · Sleepycat

Separate short- and long-term focus

Kabir Siddiq says founders need to separate their thinking into short-term firefighting and long-term building, because otherwise they can get consumed by everyday problems.