| "Investors are investing in you, the team" | | | | engaged through the ups and downs of startup life |
| That's what companies who seek venture funding | | | | 8. Lead without squashing the strengths and |
| are advised, as they were once again, many times, | | | | enthusiasm of individual members of the company |
| at a boot camp for startups where I was a mentor | | | | 9. Adapt well, as a team, as conditions change - |
| recently. | | | | because they will |
| "We're investing in the team" is easy to say. | | | | 10. Admit when you, as a leader or leadership team, |
| It's not always easy to understand. | | | | need help |
| That's especially the case if you haven't had a lot of | | | | 11. Listen and learn from customers, advisors, |
| team experiences, and more specifically, if you | | | | employees, and other members of your team |
| haven't had a lot of business team experiences and | | | | 12. Make good decisions |
| roles. | | | | 13. Lead effective implementation of decisions |
| To really understand "We're investing in the team," | | | | 14. Grow and change, as individuals and as a |
| you have to understand teamwork in a visceral | | | | leadership team, as the need for your leadership |
| sense. | | | | evolves |
| And sometimes, frankly, it helps to have been on, | | | | 15. Let go of the reins, as appropriate, and delegate |
| and to have led very successful and less successful | | | | well |
| teams, as well. | | | | 16. Show courage without foolishness |
| "We're investing in the team" is far easier to grasp if | | | | 17. Get over, around and through the barriers that |
| you understand the risks, opportunities and tools of | | | | are presented to you without, in the process, causing |
| teamwork and leadership. | | | | other problems downstream |
| And often some of the best learning occurs when | | | | 18. Be an alchemist, sometimes making progress in |
| you've had excellent but also less praiseworthy | | | | lieu of funding, sometimes stretching cash, and |
| experiences on, and at the helm of a team. You learn | | | | always turning the resources you have into more and |
| a lot, like it or not, from having to scramble to create | | | | better results than one initially might expect |
| success from impending failure. | | | | 19. See the path to success, and keep seeing it, and |
| Fundamentally, what "We're investing in the team" | | | | keep leading your team to it as it changes occur, |
| means is that investors - whoever they are - are | | | | obstacles emerge, and distractions happen |
| looking to see if you and your leadership team can: | | | | 20. Handle success well |
| | | | There are other things that investors are looking for, |
| 1. Turn a great idea into a company and then a | | | | too, when they say they're "investing in the team." |
| growing flow of profits | | | | You can rest assured, however, that if you do the |
| 2. Work well together | | | | 20 things on this list well, and if you do them better |
| 3. Turn your strengths as a team into something far | | | | than your competitors, you're well on your way to |
| greater than your strengths, as a group of separate | | | | success, however your company is funded, whoever |
| individuals | | | | is at the helm. |
| 4. Connect well with your prospects and convert | | | | Think about what would give you confidence that a |
| them into customers | | | | startup company and leadership team were likely to |
| 5. Organize people and resources to meet the | | | | succeed, if you were an investor, trying to guess |
| opportunities and challenges you face, some of which | | | | which company was most likely to succeed from |
| you know, and many of which you don't...yet | | | | among the many on which you could place your bets, |
| 6. Attract a great team | | | | and your money. |
| 7. Engage the team in your vision and keep them | | | | |