Original post by George Deeb, Forbes
Often times, a startup entrepreneur has a good business idea, but doesn’t know how to build the product. Or, the entrepreneur has deep technology skills, but is lacking in business skills. In many cases, these entrepreneurs are on the hunt for co-founders to help them build their businesses. The problem is, they often don’t know how to start the process or where best to look. Hopefully, this post will point you in the right direction.
The first thing you need to do is scope your needs. Make sure you are perfectly clear on what skillsets will be most needed for the success of the business, and best fill a hole in your own resume and desired management team. I previously talked about the various roles and responsibilities within a startup’s management team, so figure out what role your desired co-founder can fill. For example, you don’t need five technologists in the senior team, all bringing the same skillsets. Marry technology skills with marketing or sales or operating skills for an effective blending of complementary skillsets.
Once the role is identified, now you need to find the right type of person to fill that role. I previously talked about how VC’s define a backable management team. It is those kind of attributes that make an ideal candidate, especially if you plan on raising outside capital. Things like the candidate’s past-startup experience, industry expertise, intelligence, credibility, passion/energy, communication skills, personality fit, etc. should all be considered.
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