How do Startups Hire the Right People?

By Mark Evans in Startups No Comments Tags: , ,

If a startup were a recipe, it would include a mixture of a good idea, timing, luck, opportunity and, last but not least, the right people.

As much as everything else might be in place, having the wrong people is lethal for a startup. But how do startups find and hire the right people? Aside from raising money, hiring is probably the biggest challenge and obstacle facing Canadian startups.

In many cases, startups are created by people who know each other from school or who have worked together. They then bring on friends or people they know from work, which are probably solid hires given these people have the same skill-sets as the founders.

It’s when a startup looks to hire people with different skill-sets that the HR process can go awry. In most cases, the founders or management don’t have the insight or experience to make the right decision. It is not that they hire bad people; they just hire the wrong people for  jobs that require the right person.

This is particularly challenging when a startup hires marketing, communications or sales people because these skill-sets are alien to a start-up’s core strength and DNA. Non-developers talk, walk and work differently. If HR is going to go off the rails, this is when it can really happen.

So how can start-up make better hiring decisions?

The key is management/founder recognizing they don’t have the knowledge or experience to do a good job or make the right decisions. This means turning to advisors, investors, the community or HR people for help – not only help in identifying candidates but doing due diligence on potential employees.

As well, startups shouldn’t be afraid about having strenuous hiring practices as opposed to making quick, one-interview decisions. Far too often, a hiring decision is made on a favourable first impression, particularly people who are good communicators.

Startups should also consider hiring people on a contract or project basis so that if a hiring mistake is made, there is less pain if a change is needed. It also lets a startup and a potential employee “date” before they decide to get “married”.

In the scheme of things, hiring is one of the most important things a start-up does but it’s also the most challenging and fraught with a lot of risk.

For more thoughts on startups and hiring, a good read is Forbes’ Tomio Geron, who interviewed Marc Andreessen about his experiences with startups.

Startups and the Perils of the New Office

By Mark Evans in Startups 1 Comment Tags: , ,

One of the many things I find fascinating startups is their fascination with office space.

When a startup moves into a new office, it is like a rite of passage because it apparently says to the world that they’ve made it or, at least, moving up in the world. They are particularly stoked if the office is in a cool area, it’s a cool space or it’s big.

The reality, however, is many startups stumble badly when it comes to office space. They tend to spend too much, get too much space or move into an area that’s red-hot. Finding a new office can also consume too much management time and resources, and it can become a major distraction.

At the end of the day, moving to a new office can be a disaster that ends up being not generating the expected benefits and returns. In far too many cases, startups end up regretting the move because the time and cost involved doesn’t create a good enough return.

And to be frank, too many startups shouldn’t move at all. They tend to move ostensibly because they need more space but often it comes down to the need to change or show the world how well they are doing. Moving to a new office is a tangible way of saying that a startup is on a roll.

In the scheme of things, office space is far less important than a startup thinks. The quality of an office can have more to do with the people working in it and the corporate culture than the space itself. Simply because an office isn’t in the cool part of town doesn’t mean the office isn’t cool. And I don’t think good talent won’t work for a startup if the office space isn’t wonderful.

Another key issue is cost. The cooler the space or location, the higher the price. If a startup needs to pay significantly more for new space, the reality it takes away from other things (marketing, sales, talent) that also consume money.

For startups thinking about moving to a new office, I would suggest thinking long and hard about it. Move for the right reasons so it helps the company grow and take things to the next level, rather than simply wanting new, cool space.

Bloggers: A Key Part of Startup/VC Ecosystem

By Mark Evans in Startups, Venture Capital No Comments Tags: , , ,

As a long-time blogger and someone who does a lot of consulting work with startups, David Crow’s post “Where the Canadian VC Bloggers?” obviously struck a chord for a variety of reasons.

In thinking about David’s post, one thing that came to mind is how bloggers need to be a key part of the Canadian startup and venture capital ecosystem. The apparent lack of Canadian bloggers writing about the venture capital business and the growing number of financing deals puts the spotlight on the fact there may be a gap in the overall ecosystem that needs to filled.

While blogging certainly isn’t sexy any more, bloggers do play an important role in talking about what’s happening, the key trends, the movers and shakers, and putting the spotlight on the leading startups.

It is an important job because, frankly, newspapers do, at best, a mediocre job of covering the venture capital and startup sectors. One of the problems and challenges is most of the Canadian VC deals are not that big, which makes it hard to warrant newspaper coverage. As well, the venture capital sector has been so dismal in recent years that there isn’t a lot to write about, although there are signs of encouragement.

Given the lay of the land, this is where bloggers can step into the fray by supporting the VC and startup ecosystem. This is not to suggest the coverage must be fawning. Instead, there is a need to have strong, vibrant and objective coverage of the VCs, startups and entrepreneurs who are succeeding and failing.

In this way, bloggers can play as key a role as VCs, startups and entrepreneurs in creating a healthy ecosystem that is firing on all cylinders.

One final thought: In no way, am I criticizing or disparaging the bloggers who do write about VCs and startups. Blogs such as StartupNorth and StartupCFO do a great job of providing insight and information. All I’m saying is that, in this case, more is better.

RIM Should Return to its Startup Roots

By Mark Evans in Wireless 6 Comments Tags: , , ,

What to do about Research in Motion, Canada’s flagship technology company that just can’t seem to find its equilibrium in a market that has become volatile, competitive and unstable despite its growth.

Here’s a radical idea inspired by an exchange on Twitter with the National Post’s Matt Hartley: RIM should embrace its startup roots and the entrepreneurialism that made it a wireless tour de force by creating a new unit focused on teenagers or perhaps people under the age of 25. It may sound like an odd concept but here’s what I’m thinking:

Despite the BlackBerry’s diminished stature, young people are huge fans based on “in-depth research”, which has consisted of looking at their wireless devices.

Anecdotally, the BlackBerry rules the roost. Maybe it’s BBM, which lets them connect with friends and family for free. Perhaps it’s the keyboard, which makes it easy to use BBM and social media services such as Facebook. Whatever the reason, the young’uns are a pocket of strength for the BlackBerry.

A New Business Focused on Young People

To capitalize on it, RIM should carve out a new startup-like unit focused on young people. The new business would be all about creating devices, applications, marketing campaigns, events and social media activity for the under-25 demographic.

Free from the shackles of RIM’s enterprise roots (aka Your father/mother’s BlackBerry), the new business would have the freedom to be hip, cool and connected with an audience that aren’t geeks but looking for devices that meet their lifestyle needs.

This business would use BlackBerry hardware but customize it for younger people. The device, for example, would emphasize chat, video, music and social media, while e-mail and the phone would be standard features but certainly not the main selling points.

The marketing, created by an agency with expertise in younger consumers, would appeal directly to a demographic that knows what they want but are looking for someone who understands their needs and how they live. The lead spokesperson would be someone such as Justin Bieber. a BlackBerry user, who grew up close to RIM’s Waterloo headquarters.

It would be a radical move for RIM to create a new business but it might take some strategic and tactical creativity to jump-start the company’s prospects.

As it now stands, RIM has a split personality. It has a strong foothold in its traditional enterprise market but, at the same time, trying to figure out how to play in the pro-sumer market. This has made it a challenge from a marketing perspective given they’re two different audiences.

The creation of a new business focused on young people would be a way to resolve this problem and, in the process, maybe bring back RIM’s mojo.

The Whiteboard: A Startup’s Most Valuable Asset

By Mark Evans in Startups 2 Comments Tags: , , ,

I’m working for a start-up that just moved into a new office that is whiteboard-free. This may sound somewhat dramatic but it is a shocking and untenable experience.

To me, whiteboards are valuable workhorses for startups. They are essential tools for creativity, inspiration, brainstorming, planning, workflow and organizational structure. To not have whiteboards is akin to not having chairs or computers because it means a must-have tool is missing from a startup’s arsenal.

My fascination with whiteboards has made it a top priority for any startup where I’ve worked. At my first startup, Blanketware, we were so obsessed with whiteboards, we purchased 3′ x 5′ sheets of Melamine (aka shower board) from Home Depot to create a whiteboard that was the entire length of a wall.

These sheets can be bought for about $25, although they don’t have the lifespan of more expensive whiteboards unless you take care of them. But for a startup trying to operate lean and mean, it’s a better way than spending hundreds of dollars on whiteboards. Another option is using IdeaPaint, which is a DIY product that lets you paint walls to create a whiteboard. It’s cool and it works great.

Whatever route you decide to go, the most important thing for a startup is having lots of whiteboards around the office. In a workplace that is ever-changing, volatile and dependent on bursts of brainstorming and new ideas, whiteboards are a perfect medium to capture and tangibly display what’s happening and, as important, what could unfold in the future.

And I’m not talking about pipsqueak whiteboards that go on an easel, I’m talking big whiteboards for big ideas.

Madness = Apples’ Flagship Store in Manhattan

By Mark Evans in Apple/iPod 4 Comments Tags: , ,

For whatever reason, I figured a trip to New York should include a visit to Apple’s flagship store at 5th and 59th.

One word: mistake.

I’m not what I expected on a glorious Saturday afternoon but the store was utter madness. There were people everywhere, and the line-up to pay involved extreme patience for anyone who actually wanted to buy something as opposed to worship at the Apple shrine.

Personally, I walked in, and then quickly left. If there was anything I wanted to purchase, it would happen later in the comfort of my own home or a more sane store such as Carbon Computing.

As I left the store, the person walking up the stairs in front of me said it best:

“From a consumer perspective, it was a disappointing experience but from it was a great experience from a shareholder perspective.”

Granted, we’re are talking Apple’s flagship store on a day when the streets of New York were heaving with tourists. But for anyone looking for first-hand evidence of Apple’s sales mojo, it was an awesome display of rapid consumerism.

 

 

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