1.
Foundations of a
Winning Team
Tiffine Wang & Rick Rasmussen
European Innovation Academy
2017 Doha, Qatar

2.
ENTREPRENEUR’S
JOURNEY
LEGAL
PRODUCT
MARKET FIT
FUNDRAISING
HIRING/FIRING
ACCOUNTING
MARKETING
CUSTOMERS

3.
SELF EVALUATION
1. WHAT ARE YOUR
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES?
2. WHAT SKILLS DO YOU BRING
TO THE TABLE?
3. HOW DOES YOUR EXPERTISE
FIT IN WITH THE TEAM?

4.
COMPLEMENTARY
SKILLSETS

5.
WHAT DO YOU VALUE?

6.
EXCELLENCE & SAFETY

7.
SAFETY

8.
CREATIVITY

9.
DREAM TEAM

10.
DISRUPTIVE
INNOVATION
CHANGE THE WORLD

11.
A TEAM WITH A
GREAT UNFAIR
ADVANTAGE

12.
AIA Team 101

13.
The Best Teams are Diverse
Divergent thinking
Attacking problems from different angles

14.
Diversity is Hard
Gender
Geography
Interests
Experience
Skillset

15.
The Three Hs
Hacker = Builder Hustler = SalesHipster = Designer

16.
Diversity is Hard
Don’t clump together
You will fight
End results will be
MUCH better

17.
Day 1:
Diverse teams of 5 members
formed around a shared business idea
& joint idea for startup chosen and described

18.
Choosing a Winning Team

19.
Huge Misperception
Idea Person = CEO
Is Not
Always

20.
How to Choose the Right Teammates
The right team rather than the right idea..!
Don’t choose members because they are “Agreeable”
Find smart people you can disagree with but eventually come to an agreement
(how do they respond when you disagree)

21.
How to Choose the Right Teammates
The right team rather than the right idea..!
Discuss everyone’s strengths and weaknesses early on
Validate strengths. Are they as good as they say?
Find teammates whose strenghts overcome your weaknesses

22.
copyright 2017 Ken Singer

23.
copyright 2017 Ken Singer

24.
Going Through the Process

25.
At the end
of the Day
Startup CEO:
Fundraising
Team Building
Build a complete team
Build a diverse team
Build a winning business

26.
Eventually.. A full team
Investors
Board of Directors
Co-founders
Your executive staff
Board of Advisors (optional)
Service Providers
Attorneys, Accountants, Recruiters, PR
firms, Outsourcers…
Investors
Board
Advisors
Exec
Staff
Team
Service
Provider
s
You
Co-foun
ders

27.
Co-Founders
Critical to your team
Investors typically want to
see at least 2 or 3 in place
Co-founders dilemma
Investors
Board
Advisors
Exec
Staff
Team
Service
Provider
s
You
Co-foun
ders

28.
Common Stock Ranges
These are rough
ranges –
not bell curves
For new hires once a
company has raised its
Series A.
Stock should always
vest for 2-4 years, even
for founders.
CEO 5 – 10%
COO 2 – 5%
VP 1 – 2%
Board Member 1 – 2%
Director 0.4 – 1.25%
Lead Engineer 0.5 – 1%
5+ years experience Engineer 0.33 – 0.66%
Manager or Junior Engineer 0.2 – 0.33%