Page 129 - Business Plans that Work A Guide for Small Business

120 • Business Plans that Work

with lots of really sharp businesspeople who have identified a customer need
but don’t have the technology background to build a prototype. In these situ-
ations, it makes sense to recruit a cofounder—someone who complements
your skill set so that together you can fill the gaps on the team.
However, you can’t fill out a complete team right from the beginning.
It would drain too much cash (assuming you paid them), and it would
dilute too much equity. You need to be strategic and think about the two
to five key people you will need to succeed. You also have to anticipate
when you will need them. If we look at Lazybones, Dan and Reg ran the
company and its first two units for 15 years. Now, as they contemplate
growth, they’ve attracted Joel to help move the company to the next level.
The core team forms the nucleus that can achieve several key milestones.
As the milestones are met and surpassed, you start building out your in-
frastructure, which means hiring more people.
When building your core founding team, identify people that can
multitask and are willing to take on lots of duties. Although individuals
with extensive experience can be valuable additions, if their experience
has been with large corporations they may have difficulty adjusting to the
start-up mentality. The corporate person may expect all the administra-
tive support provided by the previous company, as well as the ability to
narrowly focus on a given area of specialization. This can create a culture
clash because in the start-up environment, team members need to wear
many hats. They need to help others in areas that may not be their areas
of expertise. They have to accomplish tasks with minimal administrative
support (don’t waste resources on administrative support too early in the
launch phase). Although there are many other considerations when build-
ing your team, keeping in mind the foregoing advice will help you launch
your business and conserve resources.
Considering how important the team is to your company’s success,
you need to present the power of the team as effectively as possible. We
suggest that you have an introductory paragraph that talks about how the
team came together. The subsequent subsections will provide the detail
that connects the teams skills with the requirements of the opportunity.

Team Bios and Roles

It is best to start by identifying the founding team members and their titles.
Often, the lead entrepreneur assumes a CEO role. However, if you are