What matters most for building early startup teams?

Sam Parr

Co-Founder · Hampton

Early hard conversations

Sam Parr says having hard conversations early is important, and says not doing that at some of his earlier companies was a huge mistake.

Andy Frisella

Chief Executive Officer · 1st Phorm International

Tolerance for mistakes

Andy Frisella says a leader scaling a company has to look at their tolerance for mistakes, because mistakes made in good faith should be viewed as an investment in the person's skill set.

Andrea Baronchelli

Co-Founder & CEO · Aspire

Small cross-functional squads

Andrea Baronchelli points to small cross-functional squads, which he says let teams deliver independently, encourage entrepreneurship, and go faster without depending on a large, slower team.

The answer starts at 22:43.

Marty Kausas

Customer Support, also Co-Founder & CEO · Pylon

Likability

Marty Kausas says likability is a really underappreciated factor in building a team, so he asks whether he'd want to work with or under someone and treats no as a problem.

The answer starts at 48:27.

Anshu Sharma

Co-founder & CEO · Skyflow

Hiring

Anshu Sharma says the first practical step is hiring, adding that it's 70% hiring and 30% firing and everything else takes care of itself.

Harshil Mathur

CEO & Co-Founder · Razorpay

Hiring and culture

Harshil Mathur says hiring and culture are the two aspects for teams, and they go hand in hand: the early team sets culture, so he interviewed nearly everyone hired in the first 200 and later hired for culture fit.

Jay Shetty

Co-Founder · Juni Adaptogenic Sparkling Tea

Vulnerability

Jay Shetty says vulnerability is a form of strength, arguing that when a leader opens up to their team, people see them as strong rather than weak.

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Nigel Eccles

CEO and Co-founder

Hire the right people

Nigel Eccles says the key is to hire the right people, because culture comes down to people rather than processes, and if you hire the wrong people the only fix is to change them.

The answer starts at 13:37.

Saahil Goel

MD & CEO · Shiprocket

Hire the right people

Saahil Goel says hiring the right people is the more important factor, calling it under-indexed, and says purpose-driven people are needed when building a startup, though what 'right' means differs by company.

The answer starts at 49:06.

Neil Patel

Co-Founder · Np Digital

Direct feedback

Neil Patel says people joining should expect direct feedback, sometimes in public, because he says it is better from a toughness standpoint and hiring someone who is not a fit is more painful.

Landon Cooley

CEO, Co-Founder at Pest Share · Pest Share

Over-communicating

Landon Cooley says over-communicating is necessary, citing the need to keep five different teams on the same page and drive to an outcome.

Marc Baselga

Founder · Supra

Balance

Marc Baselga says balance—give-and-take, full responsibility, and consistency—was really important, along with mindfulness and avoiding burnout to maintain consistent velocity.

Sasha Orloff

Member of Staff · Accrual

Show up for your team

Sasha Orloff says how you show up for your team is really important, calling it one of two lessons he’s taken from his experience.

Ajay Natarajan

Co-Founder · Roadrunner

People you like

Ajay Natarajan advises building with people you like, saying a team of highly intelligent goofballs provides comic relief and helps with the stress.

Neka Pasquale LAc MS

Founder & Chief Product Officer · Urban Remedy

Shared vision

Neka Pasquale says shared vision is important for teams, as people aligned with the mission and vision believe in what they're doing, and she says holding that vision is critical because business decisions can drift from it.

Colin Zima

Co-Founder, CEO · Omni

Hire people you know

Colin Zima says early-stage founders should hire people they know from past jobs, because you already know they do great work and each good hire makes the company more attractive to other good people.

Ali Hussain

CEO and Co-Founder · Tabs

Diversity of skill sets

Ali Hussain says early hires should bring diversity of skill sets—if technical, find sales or operational people—because founders need skills they lack and that mix can build a good founding team.

Kabir Siddiq

Founder & CEO · Sleepycat

Empowering culture

Kabir Siddiq says empowering people and building culture are key to effective teams, because it builds trust to let go and delegate; taking care of people means they take care of the work.

Sam Altman

Chief Executive Officer · OpenAI

Shared belief

Sam Altman says shared belief: find people who believe the same thing, because you don't need many, and if you can't find anyone else who shares your belief, that's worth paying attention to.