Thirteen key characteristics of a great start up culture
Here is the introduction to my guest post on TechFlash today.
For the last decade, I have been convinced that the three most important factors in determining the success of a start-up are (1) team, (2) product or service, and (3) market (timing, size, etc.). Take an A+ entrepreneur, with a great idea for a new product or service, at the right time, and about as fast than you can tweet Susan Boyle you’d have a success brewing.
Recently, I have added one factor to the must-have list: the right start-up culture. In other words, add a dose of bad culture to a team of superstars, a killer product and good market opportunity, the result is almost always death by a thousand backstabs.
What defines a great start-up culture? Justice Stewart’s “I know it when I see it” standard seems particularly apt here, but not actionable. I am hoping to start a dialogue about what a great start-up culture is and what it isn’t from those of you who are actually living it day-to-day. To kick off the debate, below is my best attempt at defining the characteristics of a great start-up culture. I was aiming for a top 10 but ended up with a bakers’ dozen (because in life it’s hard to beat a free bagel). How does your company’s culture stack up?
To read the list click over to Techflash.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:38 am
I’ve heard from a number of sources that investors want a board of directors for a company regardless of size. Is that true? It seems to me like a needless level of bureaucracy for a small company with 10 or fewer employees.
February 18th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
I agree in part with Ryan’s comment to the extent that your board of directors is a non-strategic entity that just receives updates as opposed to providing direction and insights. In that case, almost regardless of the size of the company, a board can be an extra layer of bureaucracy. A good board, on the other hand, is an important sounding board for the CEO about the key strategic issues facing the company. Moreover, the board is the one entity charged with the important task of protecting the interests of all the shareholders. As an investor, you want to make sure some entity is watching out for the dollars you put into the company. So regardless of size, I think it makes sense to have a board in place. Granted, for a very small company, the board also should be appropriately small in size.