Sports Betting Hall of Famer Sue Schneider is back with more monthly insights from the world of startups. This time she delivers some tough love for founders who don’t do their research.
As a founder, you hear about the importance of maintaining as much equity as you can, how to create a great pitch deck and hiring the right co-founders or key staff. But how much thought do you give to building a healthy corporate culture as you grow?
Probably not enough is the answer. So much of company culture comes from your own personality and way of doing business. If you’ve worked in other corporate environments, especially toxic ones, you’ll have firsthand experience in how important it is to build an environment that fosters teamwork yet independence, making the best use of your own skills as well as everyone in the organization.
I’ve built several startups in my career both in the private sector as well as the non-profit world. It’s important to do some self-analysis first to gauge what your own strengths and weaknesses are. I’ve read several accounts recently of CEOs who said they fired themselves as CEOs after they determined that someone else could better perform that role. This left them free to focus on their own strengths, which may lie in the area of marketing, sales, administration or some other critical function. I find those accounts fascinating since they illustrate a rare self-awareness and ability to step back and take a hard look at what they really bring to the table as founders.
Company culture is a compilation of the shared values, beliefs and behaviors that will form the underpinning of the organization you’re building. My own personal belief is that integrity and ethical business practices are the basis on which to build an organization. This can’t be stressed enough in an industry like ours that functions as a “small town”. Your word, your ethics and your honor are all important. I often mention when consulting that my value is knowing who to do business with and, more importantly, who not to do business with.
Articulating your company’s core values with your initial team is an exercise I highly recommended. It’s as important to determining your place in the industry through competitive analysis and a thorough product development map. These are some of the key pillars of your organization. Creating healthy business practices from the outset will offer you a solid foundation from which to grow. Determine the purpose, mission, objectives and strategies in the beginning of your launch. Revisiting these key elements as you grow and, inevitably, pivot, is essential.
From that basis, there are a variety of issues you need to think through and explain to folks as they join the team. These include a clear organizational structure, employee recruitment/engagement practices, and team dynamics. This is even more critical in our industry where so many of the companies operate virtually. Hanging out in person often makes it that much easier to get to know and, hopefully, bond with your cohorts; but many of us don’t have that luxury in today’s virtual world.
We all have different expectations of staff as they join the organization. My prerequisite was always seeking “self-starters”. With any luck (and I had a lot with my companies), I would get someone who could be given the broad strokes of what needed to be done and what was expected of them and they would take the ball and run with it. Fortunately, that described most of the folks who joined our staff. But, if that’s not a priority for you or you bring someone on who just doesn’t fit that mold, design a clear structure, supervision schedules and other mechanisms to allow that person to blossom in their role. This allows for productive collaboration among the team members as well as continual learning so that staff can grow into and beyond their positions within your organization.
What makes for a successful leader in a startup? Forbes Magazine had a good article which listed these features:
- Aware of industry trends
- Deliberate in their decision-making
- Focused yet flexible
- Optimistic entrepreneurial spirit
- Great at accepting failure
That list seems like a great starting point. But, I would also add fostering open communication. If a founder does not create such an environment, you’ll undoubtedly pay the price with low morale, a true lack of collaboration, frustration and other things that will truly inhibit your success and perhaps lead to a dreaded “toxic” work environment.
Add to that flexibility and adaptability. That is a must for any startup. Folks who are rigid in how they operate may really struggle in a startup where change is a given, especially in the early years. The ability to be nimble is probably the number one trait to look for as you add team members. We’ve all heard that proverb about challenges (and crises) actually being opportunities, and this is no truer than in the world of innovation.
As mentioned before, clarity regarding organizational structure as well as roles and responsibility can’t be stressed enough. Any founder will tell you that they have to be able to “do it all”. But, as you add resources and staff, making sure that folks know their roles and feel comfortable in them is critical. And it will be changing constantly as you bring in additional specialists as you grow. Another important focus is cross-training to the extent that you can. When your startup is small, everyone needs to know enough to cover for others’ roles if they get sick, sidelined on a project or taking that all important time off.
One of the things that also can’t be stressed enough in an entrepreneurial setting is being customer-centric. Someone recently wrote about talking with prospective customers before you even start your business. They said coming to possible investors with commitments from customers speaks volumes as they evaluate your future success. Keeping that customer satisfaction focus as you grow is how you really achieve some traction in your efforts and build a solid reputation.
Learn what attracts and retains good staff. In our industry, it’s often an intangible like being able to travel to industry events around the world. Or the ability to work from home, a norm since COVID-19, but one that’s being reversed in many large corporations now. It may be the creativity that people can experience as they develop new products and services for the industry. But, satisfied employees often point to the team that they work with as one of the main reasons they stay.
And, last but not least, develop the camaraderie that will keep folks engaged. One company I consulted with did monthly activities with local non-profits, which always helps keep things in perspective. Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun together. This can take many forms. We used to go on annual staff retreats, plan trips to comedy clubs, bowling and other crazy ideas that someone would cook up. This was in addition to pretty regular lunches together on the street where our office was. This not only builds the team but offers some great ways to get to know each other and create wonderful memories.
Hopefully, this convinces you of the importance of addressing these cultural issues right out of the chute as you start your journey. Be intentional with building an amazing work place.
