"How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees" presentation I gave at Startup Camp Berlin 2016.

1. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
How to find your perfect
co-founders, mentors and first employees
From realizing the importance of your team
to assessing your future co-founders, mentors and employees
Presented by Alexander Barge
April 9th
, 2016 at Startup Camp Berlin

2. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Introduction
founderio.com/entrepreneur/1

3. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Finding your perfect x
1 Realize the importance of execution and your team
Ace pitching and selling your idea and concept
Sharpen the profile you are trying to fill
Know the right places to go to and spread widely
Assess your possible partners with an open-mind
2
3
4
5

4. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
„Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has an idea.
It’s the person who gets out of the shower,
dries off and does something about it
who makes a difference.“
Realize the importance of execution and your team
Nolan Bushnell

5. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Execution is the main driver for success
Idea Team Execution Performance
Don’t overestimate the value of your idea. Execution is what matters.
Focus on building a greatteam, since they set the tone and mainly influence success.
Your idea is (just) the
starting point. It will evolve
and maybeeven pivot.
Your team is the force
executing. Mediocre people
don’t build great products.
Your execution is themain
source of value creation and
drives the performance.

6. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
„Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas.
If your ideas are any good, you’ll have to ram
them down people’s throats.“
Ace pitching and selling your idea and concept
Howard H. Aiken

7. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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The goal is to get people to believe in you
1 Prepare yourself, not just your idea
3 Specify why they should get involved
2 Take care of due diligence upfront
Pitching is about convincing someone to „invest“ in your idea, vision and ultimately in you.
Be prepared. Give your counterpart reasonto care.

8. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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This is not the way to do it
Hello Alexander,
I am looking for a co-founder. To be more specific I am looking for a CTO
with excellent knowledge in his or her field who is extremely motivated like
us. If you are interested please reply.
Best, Name

9. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
“You can’t find what you want,
if you don’t know what you are looking for.”
Sharpen the profile you are trying to fill
Matthew E. Fryer

10. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Bottom up approach
Who are you?
What are your personal strengths and weaknesses? What are the skills
you possess? What experience do you have? How is your network in
the desired field?
What are your core values? What is your vision?
Which skills are missing for great execution?
What skills are needed for a first prototype? What would a
complementary partner look like?
Build your team with complementary skills and backgrounds,
but with the same value system and the same vision to assure culture fit.

11. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Using the BMC to identify gaps

12. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Top down approach
What do the teams of winners in your desired
field look like?
What is the average size of the “perfect” team? Which backgrounds do
the co-founders bring to the table? How can those structures be
applied to your case?
Learn from winners and best practices.
Adapt this knowledge to your individual case.

13. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Pitch your idea, yourself and the position
Title with clear description of intent
Short executive summary
Background and motivation
Detailed “job description”
Desiredqualifications
Your offer and benefits
Next steps and contact information

14. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
“Until you spread your wings,
you'll have no idea how far you can fly.”
Know the right places to go to and spread widely
Unknown

15. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Spread the word
Online
platforms
Specialized online platforms are a great starting point.
They offer the desired audience and tools to pick and
choose.
Events
From specialized partner dating events, to large
conferences – thereendless possibilities to meet your
future co-founders, mentors and employees
Network
From your innercircle, to old workcolleagues –
leverage your network by spreadingthe word.
Use multiple channels. Combine offline and online.
Get the best talent – not just the first.

16. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Online platforms (1/x)
CoFoundersLab.com

17. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Online platforms (2/x)
founder2be.com

18. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Online platforms (3/x)
founderio.com

19. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Events (1/x)

20. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Events (2/x)

21. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Events (3/x)

22. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Network (1/x)

23. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Network (2/x)

24. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
„You don‘t really know someone
until you get ridiculously drunk with them.“
Assess your possible partners with an open-mind

25. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Getting to know each other
Get personal
Meet in person and get to know your futurepartner besides talking business.
Build up trust
Share yourthoughts and insights. Trust your partner.
Get personal. Build trust. Align values and vision.
Do not compromise.
Align values and vision
What skills are needed fora first prototype?What would a complementary partner
Discuss the deal
What skills are needed fora first prototype?What would a complementary partner

26. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
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Summary
1 Realize the importance of execution and your team
Ace pitching and selling your idea and concept
Sharpen the profile you are trying to fill
Know the right places to go to and spread widely
Assess your possible partners with an open-mind
2
3
4
5

27. How to find your perfect co-founders, mentors and first employees Alexander Barge at Startup Camp Berlin 2016
Contact:
Thanks for
your attention
fb.com/abarge@barlexanderhello@abarge.comfounderio.com