My presentation on building a team for your startup. Presented at Rice University MBA.

1. Building the Team Shion Deysarkar CEO, 80legs

2. My perspective: CEO of a funded tech/web startup in Houston for almost 2 years

3. Why is this important? Long-term, your job is to build the company, not necessarily the product Company culture is one of the few sustainable competitive advantages

4. Great employees Qualities and characteristics

5. Great employees:Biased toward action They get stuff done

6. Great employees:Creative but disciplined Sticks to deliverables but can see ways to make things better, more efficient, etc.

7. Great employees:Smarter than you Pays big-time dividends: smart people want to work with other smart people

8. Great employees:A “can do” attitude Problems and barriers are just challenges to be solved

9. Company culture If you start off with folks with these qualities: Gets Stuff Done Smart Disciplined Creative Problem Solver 1. New employees will adopt these qualities 2. You’ll find it much easier to do your job as CEO

10. Recruiting You are a tiny fish in a giant pond – recognize this and adapt

11. Recruiting:Have an awesome product Awesome people want to work on awesome stuff

12. Recruiting:Sell the mission, not the job It’s not just a job – it’s a chance to change the world and make a difference

13. Recruiting:Building a talent pipeline You’re at a disadvantage as a startup – learn how to cut in line in front of the big boys Plan ahead – start building relationships with people and organizations that will bring you talent

14. Recruiting:Monster.com is a last resort The people you want to hire are not looking for jobs

15. Hiring Timing and the “gates”

16. Hiring:When to hire Anytime you find someone awesome vs. When you have a role to fill

17. Hiring:The gates Referral -> Easy Questions -> Hard Questions -> Fit

18. Hiring:Referrals Your current team should be the best filter for evaluating new hires

19. Hiring:The interview process First ask easy questions as a quick filter (e.g., write a binary sort for a programmer) Then ask hard questions and treat them as a discussion, not “gotchas”

20. Hiring:Personal Fit Have your team be part of the interview process, do a lunch to see how the new hire gels on a personal level

21. Compensation Think in terms of levers – have multiple options to meet each employee’s personal economic utility

22. Compensation:Your goal Pay just enough so that your employee doesn’t have to think about his salary

23. Compensation:Negotiation Strike a fair price on the total package, too much negotiation starts you out on the wrong foot

24. Compensation:Salary vs Equity The less money you have now, the more you will need to compensate in the future

25. Compensation:Don’t be loose with the equity Set aside a pool of shares for employees and plan any future equity offers within that pool

26. Compensation:Avoid handing out big titles Creates role conflict and ambiguity

27. Compensation:Perks Easy to use and shows you understand your employees on a personal level

28. Compensation:Ultimately, just be fair Compensation is the bottom line of how much you value each employee

29. A few closing thoughts Your team is the life blood of your company – they will make or break you Love your team – they are your family

30. Questions? Shion Deysarkar http://www.80legs.com @shiondev