The Startup Checklist

4Build Your Dream Team

Starting and building any business other than the tiniest one-person shop is a complicated task. Thus, the majority of businesses that aspire to become high-growth companies of the future are launched by a founding team of two, three, or more people. Combining the strengths, insights, experiences, talents, connections, and resources of a few people often gives a new business a greater chance of success than having it rest entirely on the shoulders of a talented single individual. That said, there is a real difference between founding a business and being part of the founding team.

The Crucial Talents Required to Launch a New Venture

Since Bill Hewlett joined Dave Packard in 1939 to create what became the world's largest personal computer company, there has arisen among the denizens of Silicon Valley an evergreen debate as to who is more important in starting a tech company: the techie or the business guy? Steve Jobs or Steve Wozniak? Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer? Jim Clark or Marc Andreessen?

Tech ventures represent a fraction of the thousands of new businesses launched every year, and a similar debate exists in most other business arenas, pitting the creative partner against the business-oriented partner. In the world of fashion, it's the designer vs. the marketing and manufacturing expert; in the food business, it's the chef or flavor expert vs. the processing and packaging expert; in tourism or hospitality, it's the front person who can charm high-rolling ...