It is extremely easy to be a confident entrepreneur. You come up with an idea that a few people think is great, you raise some money and you prepare to roll out the business.
Few people take the time to analyze their weaknesses and structure a team that can compensate for them. Not every entrepreneur is a good manager of a business or can inspire employees. In fact, many entrepreneurs are good for the early stage and need to bring in more experienced managers later on because they don’t take the time to address their weaknesses.
If you are not good at financial projections then you either bring in someone who is or you improve your skills.
The issue tends to be control; entrepreneurs don’t tend to like giving up control or don’t know how to delegate when they have decided to give up control. Take the time to think about the next 5 years of your venture – what skills will be needed to grow it? what areas are you weak in? can you find good people to fill in the blanks? how will you manage to delegate? how much management do they need?
With Random Media now bringing on an experienced executive as CEO I have taken a very hands off approach. Robert and I felt that it was more important to trust the individual to execute the vision we have and implement systems they know have worked in other organizations. The day a founder does not have to reply to every email is the day you begin to realize the value of other people’s time and value it.
Most startups don’t have the money to pay such people but that is why you have to be willing to part with some equity. It doesn’t have to be much but it pays off in the long run to have other people on the bus, committed to the long-term growth of the company and bringing their expertise in earnest to the table.
The caution of course is to ensure that you give up equity to the right kind of person. If the person is interested in working for you just because they think they will strike it rich, they are going to jump ship the first time things get difficult and they will take their equity and run unless you had an agreement about how long they have to stay in.
If the person truly believes in what you are trying to accomplish, they will stick around through the hard years (or months depending on how lucky you are).
Acknowledge your weaknesses and then work on them while trying to find competent people to cover those bases. A team effort is always a better approach and only makes you a better entrepreneur.
