Your million-dollar startup idea is only as good as the interpersonal and technical skills you apply when you form a startup team. In the brutal world of startups, having encyclopedic knowledge and work ethic alone, will not cut it.
5 skills you need as a CEO to be able to form a startup team successfully
1. Leadership and management
2. Strategic business planning
3. Critical thinking and problem-solving
4. Book-keeping and accounting
5. Web development and marketing
Once you have acquired these skills, you will know exactly how to form a startup team.
In this process, the fundamental job of a startup founder is to connect with individuals who share a similar passion and drive.
A startup founder should hence focus on building a quality team, without compromising on the hiring bar.
We have answered a few important questions to help you build the ideal team for your startup.
What should you look for in a co-founder while building a startup team?
Hiring the right fit who will work with you and help you form a startup team can be a crucial element for your team’s success.
Most entrepreneurs are faced with the dilemma of getting a co-founder or being a sole showrunner.
If you decide to enroll a co-founder, make sure they have the right skill set and share your passion for the business.
You have to keep in mind that the person you choose, will be with you at all times, tackling obstacles and managing the business. Hence, you must pick a co-founder with whom you have the right chemistry.
You must understand that this partnership is much like a marriage in the corporate realm.
5 steps to follow in order to identify your potential co-founder
Step 1: Identify gaps
You need to begin by identifying gaps in your business. It could be an entire business area or a specific process.
Accordingly, you need to find a person who has expertise in the area, and from whom you can learn too.
A refreshing example of the same, is Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore, the founders of Intel. Bob knew about Physics, and Gordon studied Chemistry.
Step 2: Start your hunt
Once you have identified the gaps in your business, you should start looking for prospective candidates in your network.
It is always a great idea to partner with someone with who you have worked previously. The upside would be that you are already acquainted with each other’s working style, have a rapport and mutual respect.
In the case of Eventbrite, Julia and Kevin Hartz tied the knot before founding the event management and ticketing firm.
Step 3: Test the waters
Share your business idea with your potential co-founder. He/ she needs to have the same level of commitment, excitement, and passion for building a startup team with you.
To form a startup team that is sustainable and efficient requires years of relentless hard work and dedication.
Therefore, having a strong co-founder by your side, who is equally passionate about the business is crucial.
Step 4: Say Cheers!
If you come across someone who shares the aforementioned skills and criteria, you may have found your potential co-founder!
PayPal founders, Max Levchin, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel all shared a common goal to create a novel way to receive payments.
The same goes for Sergey Brin and Larry Page, who wanted to improve the way we search for information on the internet, and in turn, gave us Google.
Step 5: Set ground rules together
Once you have your co-founder on board, the next step is to form your startup team and that process is rather stressful.
It is advised that you keep the communication lines open at all times. This will help you and your co-founder to be on the same page while building a strong team for your startup.
It will be in your team’s best interest if the founders together can tackle and resolve conflicts instantaneously.
How to find the right team for your startup?
Having an impactful co-founder by your side will drastically increase your chances of success.
However, to form a startup team, you need dedicated individuals working alongside the founders.
In order to expand your team, you need individuals who can seamlessly handle various business aspects, such as product or service development, operations, and marketing.
3 steps to identify the right people for your startup team
Step 1: Be fastidious
Be particular about the skill sets of people you hire, and don’t be afraid to be picky. You need to keep in mind that you are trying to find the perfect fit for your startup.
Step 2: Ask the right questions
In the interviews for potential candidates, ask them questions to gauge the field they come from.
Collect information regarding specific situations, everyday tasks, and the level of involvement of potential candidates in product or service development.
These answers will help you analyze:
- If they have the right skill set for your startup
- If they will be able to accept and assimilate the startup culture
Step 3: Look for all-rounders
Be on the lookout for candidates who enjoy overcoming obstacles and resolving pressing issues.
Having such candidates as your team members will help you build a team that is inherently strong.
You can also consider involving advisors in your team, who can address specific concerns of your business.
At times, advisors can be offered some equity or some share of the company to demonstrate that you value them and their opinions. Such a move can also assist in increasing the value of your startup.
How do you know if you have found your ideal startup team?
You’ll just know.
There are only so many technicalities and parameters you can engage in while setting up your ideal team. Some attributes you find, and some you inculcate.
Let’s find out how!
A strong team for any startup should consist of the following attributes:
- Result oriented
- Accountable
- Committed
- Solution-oriented
- Trustworthy
If you are aiming to build a startup team that can have a long-lasting impact, you will need a strong set of people to work with.
You need to surround yourself with individuals who are among the best in their respective fields. Identifying such individuals and attracting them to your organization should be your top priority.
Once you have these individuals on board, you need to make them more effective as a team as soon as possible.
It can often be tedious to coach and lead a team to success, but it’s worth it.
5 tips to effectively coach your startup team
Tip 1: Inspire passion by envisioning the big picture with your team
Tip 2: Go scouting for new ideas
Tip 3: Enable easy communication among teammates
Tip 4: Point your team in the right direction and redirect as required
Tip 5: Make sure you are in it to win it
How do you build a great sales team for your startup?
The sales team of a startup is mainly responsible for creating conversions and managing leads.
Sales are one of the most essential roles in any organization, and hence it is very important to build a strong sales team.
However, you need to ask yourself a few questions before you start interviewing potential candidates:
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of your business?
- What do you consider to be an ideal profile for a customer?
- What are your past sales figures and how do you envision the future?
Reflecting inward by utilizing these questions will help you identify suitable individuals for your sales team.
Research has shown that components such as customer profile, revenue growth, and sales traction, can reveal an individual who is best suited for your sales team.
The candidates you are considering hiring for your sales team should have the following qualities:
- Ability to make the customers feel valued by creating a good first impression
- Ability to communicate clearly and showcase the full value of your product/ service
- Ability to accept failure while striving for success
Try to keep your team confined to a few members as startups typically go through different restructuring phases.
Learning to identify these phases appropriately will assist you in availing the help of the right person.
We have listed 50 startup recruitment agencies to help you find the perfect candidates for your startup. Read on!
[BONUS] List of 50 startup recruitment agencies to help you form a startup team
| Sr no. | Website | Title | Description |
| 1 | alterhr.com | HR Consulting – Human Resource Consulting | Products & Forms. Alter HR is an HR solutions provider that offers human resources services to help small, medium and startup businesses find the right talents that fit their organization and assists them challenges as they continue to grow. Composed of HR experts with proven track record and years of solid experience, we specialize in recruitment, staff training, employee relations. |
| 2 | animohr.com | Animo HR | Finding the Best Tech Talent. Finding the Best Tech Talent. Finding the Best Tech Talent. Finding the Best Tech Talent. Permanent or Contract Professionals. Animo HR is a boutique executive search and staffing firm specializing in IT professionals across all industries, all disciplines and even including startups. We have over 20 years of experience in recruitment and the expertise to navigate the complex and constantly changing world of information technology, whether legacy systems, cutting edge skills o |
| 3 | archerits.com | Tech Staffing | Archer IT | United States | Archer IT provides consultant staffing, employee recruitment, and executive search solutions to clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies across North America in the financial services, banking, and fintech industries. |
| 4 | ashasivakumar.com | Abcsk – Home | ABCSK Services is a startup and new initiative of Ms. Chitra Singaraju, with the aim to providing advisory services in the domains of Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Finance and Economics. While working in Industry she experienced a need for bridging the gap between Industry and Academics. Companies today are facing dynamic challenges in various walks of their businesses- from recruitment, training, skill up gradation, retention, to employee engagement. |
| 5 | beejaum.com | :: beejAUM :: | Driven with passion to provide cost effective recruitment solutions. At beejAUM Technology Group we are providing staffing solutions to the IT world. Our staff is well versed in the issues facing the technology industry today. We balance our client’s business objectives with a cost-effective outsourcing option. We service all size organizations from startups to multinational corporations with the same high caliber solutions and staffing options. |
| 6 | blueshiftsolns.com | Cross Border Jobs | Blueshift Business Solutions | BLUESHIFT BUSINESS SOLUTIONS offers a client focussed Cross Border Recruitment Services with focus on Offshore-Onsite Placements, Freelance Consulting, Business Solutions and Digital Business Transformation Solutions for every Startup, Small, Medium and Large Enterprises |
| 7 | braincloudrecruiting.com | BrainCloud Recruiting | In-house Recruitment for Rapidly Scaling Startups. In-house Recruitment for Rapidly Scaling Startups. Every one of our Recruiters is a star ex-agency Head Hunter with at least 5 years of experience building and scaling high-tech startups. We are your dedicated, remote recruiting department filling all of your open roles with the talent you want for half the cost of using agencies. |
| 8 | breatheconsulting.io | Breathe Consulting Singapore | Technology Recruitment | Breaathe Consulting offers dedicated in-house recruitment services customised to Singaporean startups, to help them build teams with some of the most talented engineers around. |
| 9 | connectguru.org | ConnectGuru | Management Consultant and IT Solutions provider Startup. Offered services like Campus Recruitment, Technology Recruitment, HRBP, Lead Generation and Digital Marketing. |
| 10 | duskystallion.com | Dusky Stallion | duskystallion.com | Home | Third Party Payroll. Dusky Stallion is a renowned Recruitment and Training / Third Party Payroll company and in to business of hiring of staff and worker and maintain third party payroll for all categories at PAN India level. Dusky Stallion provides different HR services with the intent of helping Startups, SMEs and Large organisations to set up best practices in HR at PAN India. |
| 11 | easy.jobs | easy.jobs – The Best Remote Hiring SaaS for 2020! | Remote hiring made easy. Recruitment for Startup to Enterprise was never this fun. easy.jobs is your own HR SaaS tool, get your own career page, get in control. |
| 12 | endeavorcre.com | Endeavor Agency – Real Estate and PropTech Startup Recruiting | Full service recruitment agency recruiting top talent within the commercial real estate and PropTech startup Industries. Nationwide coverage with deep networks in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Texas and Atlanta |
| 13 | epicstaffingsolutions.com | Epic Staffing Solutions – Home | Epic Staffing Solutions is an emerging startup recruitment agency based in Minnesota. The major focus of the company is to expand her Recruitment Processes Outsourcing (RPO) and provide the services to Smaller recruiting firms to large national scale Staffing companies. Our wide-ranging experience in specialized and multilingual recruitment allows our organization to offer and uniquely tailored approach to employers whatever their recruitment requirements. |
| 14 | fintechtalentsolutions.com | Home – Fintech Talent Solutions – HR, Recruitment & Talent Consultancy | Fintech Talent Solutions provide expert global, HR, Recruitment and Talent consultancy solutions for Fintech companies, start ups scale ups and job seekers. Whether you are a CEO looking to startup, build or scale a successful business and need a people strategist to help with your initial HR or key hiring needs, or you are an established company needing additional specialist talent support, Fintech Talent Solutions can help you. We can also help candidates looking for opportunities within Fintech. |
| 15 | geekhunter.co | Geekhunter | Refer your friend and win IDR 1,000,000 – 2,000,000. We help you hire programmers and IT talents from Indonesia. Indonesia’s prominent IT Recruitment Consultant. We’re known as Indonesia’s first recruitment agency that focuses on IT roles. We have been helping great companies, from startups to multinationals, to hire the right IT professionals. We know how to create that perfect match between experts and employers. |
| 16 | greydew.com | Grey Dew Consulting – Technology, Marketing and Human Consulting | Grey Dew provides consulting services to SMEs, Enterprises and Startups into Information Technology, UI/UX Design, Telephony, Digital Marketing, Branding, Content Strategy, Data Analytics, Recruitment and Training Services through its Large Network of Innovation & Delivery Centers and Partners. |
| 17 | hawkesrecruitment.com | The Mobile First Recruitment Agency | A specialist mobile and digital recruitment service connecting top sales, marketing and creative talent with exciting startups, agency, tech & media businesses. |
| 18 | headstep.net | Home | HeadStep | Recruitment & Placement Solutions. We at HeadStep, family owned HR recruitment and placement agency, believe that the strength of any organization, whether early stage startup or well established company, lay in its people. Since our foundation in 2018 in Israel, we had shared the knowledge, resources and expertise with our global clientele, to secure them with the best candidates in the talent-short labor market. |
| 19 | hiring-expert.com | Hiring Expert | Begin typing your search above and press return to search. WE HELPING YOU: INFO@YOURSITE. Great Vision Without Great People is Irrelevant. We are a Multi-Sector Recruitment Specialists helping companies with executive search, permanent staffing, temporary staffing, recruitment process outsourcing and linguist support. Businesses we work with range from Startups, SMEs to Fortune 500. |
| 20 | hmventurecorp.com | H&M Venture Corp | Recruiting & Talent Acquisition. Recruiting | Recruitment Marketing | Talent Acquisition Planning. Over 12 years in recruiting and recruitment marketing strategy from startups to fortune 500 clients hiring entry level to executive talent. Skill, unique modern approaches, and long term partnership no matter if you need to hire 1 or 100 employees. Copyright © 2018 H&M Venture Corp – All Rights Reserved. |
| 21 | irecruitersgroup.com | Home | We are a full service professional services firm providing strategic recruitment and search services from key contributor to management and senior executive roles for companies of all sizes from startup to Fortune 500. |
| 22 | it-staffed.com | Home | IT Staffed | About IT Staffed. We are a small recruitment agency located in Novosibirsk Technopark, the center of Russian science & technology. Over the years we’ve helped to find talent to many domestic tech companies as well as international startups. Our active database has an impressive number of experienced software developers, data scientists, blockchain developers ready to be employed. |
| 23 | jobs.recluta.com | Recluta – Recluta | Your browser Other 0 is out of date. It has known security flaws and may not display all features of this and other websites. Recluta is a simpler, more transparent and efficient way for startups and high-growth tech companies to recruit top talent. Through our process, companies can be engaged with candidates they think are qualified within 30 days and for less than the cost of a recruitment agency. |
| 24 | jp-associates.asia | Homepage – JP Associates | We represent the best tech talents in Malaysia. JP Associates advises, manages and champions local Malaysian talent for the best roles available in the Southeast Asian market. We are an exclusive recruitment firm catering to forward-thinking, innovative public listed multinational and startups in the IT and shared services businesses across Kuala Lumpur city centre, Bangsar South, Petaling Jaya and Cyberjaya. |
| 25 | jumpstart-hr.com | Jumpstart:HR | Human Resources Outsourcing and Consulting for Small Businesses and Startups | Jumpstart:HR provides HR outsourcing and consulting for U.S. Small Businesses and Startups. Services include: Employee Handbooks, Recruitment, and HR Setup. |
| 26 | krizalis.com | Krizalis Consulting | Whether it’s setting up systems/tools/processes, functioning as your interim recruiting department, augmenting your existing team/efforts, or working on a specific search, we can help. Full cycle, ‘in-house’ recruiting. Contingency and retained hiring. Training internal recruiting teams and hiring managers. Campus Recruitment, Branding and Relations. We have experience working with internet giants as well as with small, unique startups across multiple industries. |
| 27 | mastcareers.com | Mastcareers.com – Startup hiring specialists | WE ARE THE SPECIALISTS IN START-UP HIRING. Upload Your CV. We are specialists, when it comes to understanding the needs of a startup, ensuring we connect candidates who are a great cultural and skill fit. Trust on us when it comes to choosing your Recruitment Partners. We invest time in understanding your core values and ethos. THE STARTUP INDUSTRY TRUST US. |
| 28 | meetappetite.com | appetite | For early stage startups, hiring the right team is THE biggest test that Founding teams face. Your first 50 hires will make or break your startup. Our model was designed specifically for startups that meet the following criteria:. Our mission is simple: to help startups hire amazing teams by providing comprehensive, and more importantly, scalable end-to-end recruitment solutions. |
| 29 | mobilizeit.us | Mobilize | Multiple Hires for same cost. We’re about simplicity and we believe in making recruitment easy and cost effective for our customers who are mainly Startups and SMB’s. We will find the best TALENT for you. Hiring is a challenging task for most companies because of the time spent in advertising on job boards, managing the recruitment process. We are a service oriented recruiting company dedicated to working closely with client firms. |
| 30 | netpolarity.com | netPolarity – We make the world a better place, one job at a time. | netPolarity is a certified Woman and Minority-Owned full-service staffing firm, the supplier of choice to over a hundred Fortune clients nationwide. We deliver contingent workforce and direct hire staffing, payrolling services and recruitment training. For job seekers: whether you are looking to join a hot startup or a Fortune 1000, we can connect you with the job that’s right for you. Our diverse client base includes leading companies in Banking and Financial Services, New Media and Internet, Software, Sto |
| 31 | politeplacement.com | HOME | Polite Placement | The people that are really polite. We’re Polite Placement Services, a recruitment services company. We’re here to politely connect you with people who love what they do, believe in your company’s vision and belong on your team. Our mission is to make recruiting about the people. Serving companies across United Sates and Canada, specializing in industries including technology, gaming, startups and digital agencies. |
| 32 | predictablehiring.io | Predictable Hiring – Your Guide To Data-Driven Startup Hiring | Your Guide to Successful Startup Hiring. Failure in recruitments can often be avoided before they do become failures. Let’s take an example. An AI company is looking for a person with …. Startups are often compared to rocket ships. That as a startup employee or co-founder, you are getting a seat on a rocket ship. Making sure that every single hire is a great cultural fit is essential when recruiting for your startup. |
| 33 | pulconsulting.com | Pul Consulting Services – Bridging the Gap | HR & Recruitment. Training & Capacity Building. Call Center Management. Business Registration & Startup Support. Business Development Services. Export Promotion & International Trade. Translation & Interpretation. Research & Assessment. Monitoring & Evaluation. Financial Management & Taxation. Media & Communications. Youth & Women Empowerment. HR & Recruitment. |
| 34 | resourceful.dev | Quality Tech Recruiting – Resourceful.Dev | Your technical growth partner. Our mission & vision. Resourceful is an end-to-end, boutique-style technical recruitment and contract staffing agency supporting all kinds of organizations, from fledgling startups to industry-leading global enterprises. Resourceful was founded in 2019 by a serial entrepreneur, several seasoned recruiters and a group of veteran technology experts. |
| 35 | rorybellow.com | Rory Bellow | Recruiting | Startups | Turnarounds | Leadership. Recruitment Subject Matter Expert with healthy experience sourcing and staffing domestic, global and remote personnel. Full life-cycle recruiting success in corporate, professional services and legal environments with rigorous processes and high standards. Credited with filling tough positions, implementing recruiting best practices, and achieving the lowest time and cost to fill metrics. |
| 36 | saasysales.com | Sales consulting | United States | SaaSySales | SaaSySales provides sales consulting for SaaS companies, specializing in SMB and Mid-Market. Services range from list building, lead generation, sales, sales operations, outsourcing and recruitment for early stage startups. |
| 37 | sakrisonhrconsulting.com | HR Process Implementation & Improvement – Jen Sakrison HR Consulting | Jen Sakrison HR Consulting. HR Services for small to medium size businesses. HR Process Implementation & Improvement. Do you own a small business, a service business or a business startup and would like HR help on a fractional or project basis. My passion is helping businesses create, sustain, or improve generalist processes, recruitment initiatives, performance, and talent management to achieve your desired results. |
| 38 | scaleandswing.com | Scale & Swing. Recruitment For Startups. Executive search. Hiring Sprints. Advisory Boards. | Executive search, hiring sprints, advisory boards and recruitment strategy development for startups. We specialize in recruitment for startups. |
| 39 | seekqual.com | HOME | Mysite | Full life cycle recruiting with a commitment to client services and creative recruitment. Our expertise combines over eighteen years of C-Suite support: providing clients a broad range of knowledge around industries that include high technology, commercial real estate, banking, sports and hyper startup’s. |
| 40 | skyrocketventures.biz | Technology Recruiting Services with Skyrocket Ventures | Skyrocket Ventures | Manta. Skyrocket Ventures @ Professional on the Web. Skyrocket Ventures // Home. Skyrocket Ventures – Blog. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, Skyrocket Ventures is a premiere recruiting organization that connects the region’s fastest-growing technology companies with top employees in the field. Employee recruitment services are provided to both technology industry leaders and promising startup operations. |
| 41 | sohorecruiter.com | SOHO RECRUITER – Home | Welcome to SoHo Recruiter. We partner with high-growth startups and market leading enterprises with borderless recruitment to help them hire the best transformative talent in technology and software. SoHo Recruiter is a technology-enabled full service recruitment agency based in Southern California. Our service is tailored and responsive to our client’s needs. |
| 42 | staffingaccelerator.co | Doug Pedersen | Freedom House Media | THE ULTIMATE RECRUITMENT SCORECARD. Hard skills get you on the field. Soft skills help you win the game. Insider Growth Assessment for freelance recruiters, startups, and young agency vets. Value-driven recruiting used to be a differentiator. World-class Staffing Professionals now know that taking care of people is the real X-Factor. Most Recruiters fail to make money in staffing because they quit: they don’t grow or get bored: they lose their confidence: they may not operate a full desk: or they simply bur |
| 43 | startupceo4hire.weebly.com | STARTUP CEO 4 HIRE – Home | Women lead recruitment, employment, and hiring. A division of Bella Caveat, a women-owned stealth startup. Fourteen brands, one company, one mission. We support sustainable and ethical hiring, free of race and gender bias |
| 44 | talent-stock.com | Home | We are THE leading recruitment agency for Sales, Engineering, Marketing, and Product professionals for VC and Angel-backed technology startups. We strive to create a positive, rewarding experience for our clients, candidates and employees. Integrity, Excellence, People, Results. We deliver on hardest to find positions. Companies require a different kind of agency. |
| 45 | tgistaffing.com | TGI Staffing | Recruitment and Staffing services. TGI Staffing was established in the year 2015 with a vision to impact the rapidly growing recruitment Industry in India. Headquartered in Hyderabad, it has a nationwide presence of clients with a recorded Human Capital investment. Redefining the Recruitment experience of Fortune 500s and Large Enterprises to Startups and MSMEs, TGI Staffing has diversified the hiring mechanics, becoming a Total Solutions Provider of first recall. |
| 46 | thestartupaccelerator.com | Startup Accelerator | The Startup Accelerator was founded with one simple vision:. Help Startups Succeed Quickly. We do this by being dedicated to C2C, Contingent, and Retained recruitment services. Currently engaged with several clients throughout Southern California, we help high profile consumer-facing internet companies scale by staffing niche positions in multiple verticals. |
| 47 | tolfrey.com | Tolfrey Group : A global leader in Workday, PeopleSoft, SAP, Lawson, and Oracle recruitment | Specialists in partnering with tech startups. We have assisted consumer-facing web startups, mobile app startups, business intelligence and machine learning startups. In addition we can provide support by implementing applicant tracking systems and best practices in the hiring cycle. Grant Du Plooy. Our Firm at a Glance. Tolfrey Group has been since 1997 a global leader in Workday, PeopleSoft, SAP, Lawson, and Oracle recruitment. |
| 48 | wrkhq.com | Wrk | The simplest way to start hiring for your startup. | The simplest way to start hiring for your startup. Get your hiring process up and running in minutes with Wrk’s fresh approach to recruitment software. Helping to grow the next generation of companies. A lightweight, simple, reasonably-priced hiring platform for startups has finally launched. Create a branded job board as a centralized place to display all the open positions at your company. |
| 49 | zareers.com | Zareers – Building careers and teams! | Building careers and teams. We have some of the best companies in the industry using our services to find star talent, from startups to Fortune 500 MNCs. Our team of experts works hard to service your requirements, no matter how difficult they are, until you are satisfied. Our team has decades of experience in recruitment allowing us to understand your needs and find you the best talent or job. |
| 50 | zenture.io | Recruiting | Zenture.io | United States | Recruiting consultancy that specializes in hiring software engineers for all companies in NYC. We observe current hiring practices, implement best practices, and build the foundation for a streamlined recruitment engine. Experience with startups, seed companies, Series A and all the way up to post IPO companies. |
In Conclusion
Starting with a weak team can be a potential deal-breaker for your firm, even if you have a million-dollar idea. You need to find a strong team for your startup.
A strong team is the starting point of a great company. With your vision, you need to attract the best individuals and guide them toward a shared goal.
As a leader, you should inspire your team members and make them aware of their contributions and their impact on the organization.
Lastly, always make it a point to celebrate with your team when you have achieved significant milestones.
