Week 3 - MBA 6101 - Ascend your Start-Up

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Hello,

In Chapter 2 of Helen Yu’s book, Ascend Your Start-Up, when preparing to build the Minimal Viable Product, an action item is to establish the necessary team. Picking the right person for the right job to carry the Minimal Viable Product forward in the evolution of the start-up. The focus then shifts from the product to the team, and the right team at that. The complexity of a start-up requires a team to specialize in different areas. Finding the right people for the job in order to gain market visibility of the start-up’s product, is the focus of Chapter 3.

There are key roles that need to be filled within the leadership of a start-up. Helen describes these roles as the thought leader, challenger, collaborator, and operator (Yu, 2021). Each plays a unique but important role. Who should staff these roles? The warning from Helen is to stay away from friends and family (Yu, 2021). Instead, look for industry experts who will share their knowledge to add value to the fledgling start-up. The owner of the start up cannot be an expert in all areas of the business, and the time to become fully proficient is long. The experts compliment the owner’s weaknesses. Where the owner is unsure of the best course of action in a given business field, the expert can provide the guidance necessary.

The team will evolve with the team, and the team will evolve with the individuals within. However, there are times when for the team to evolve, new talent must be brought in, and old talent separated from. Helen summarizes this with “sometimes the people who begin the start-up journey don’t stay with you – or are not meant to stay with you” (Yu, 2021). The challenges of yesterday that the old talent was able to overcome are not the same challenges of today. As the challenges facing the start-up change, the start-up must also be willing to change to overcome.

 

Citation:

Yu, H. (2021). Ascend Your Start Up, Conquer the 5 Disconnects to Accelerate Growth. Made for Success                 Publishing

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