Personalities You Want for Your Startup

The mix of personalities founding your startup can be instrumental for whether or not your business survives the 75% failure rate in the first two to five years. You can’t be successful with a group made up of great idea makers and no movers and shakers to drive ideas to reality. Consequently, you can’t be successful with people who can make things happen, but no original ideas to drive your company out of the pack with anything new and defining. Plus, there are other necessary personality types that bring balance. That’s where choosing the personalities founding your startup must be given a lot of thought to ensure a successful balance is achieved. See how many of the following personalities apply to your own startup.

• The Idea Maker
  This person has the ideas that are the basis of your startup. This type of personality is usually high-strung but fantastic at coming up with new products, new ways to accomplish tasks, and is overall the creative driving force behind the company.
• The Can-Do Magician
  When the Idea Maker has a good idea, the Can-Do Magician goes into action finding ways to make it happen. This person radiates positivity and is gifted at streamlining any task and finding creative ways to achieve results.
• The Top Negotiator
  All the personalities involved need someone willing to make the hard decisions. The person who can mediate during disputes the Idea Maker is pretty much going to elicit from all other members at one point or another. This will be the person seen as the final word on group decisions.
• The Insider Experience
  This person usually has years of experience in the industry the startup is launching in. They know the pitfalls and perks of the industry. They already have contacts and they know insiders. These people are your insurance against bad history repeating itself in a niche market and helping find new innovations on existing products. Often works closely with the Idea Maker and Can-Do Magician.
• The Super Salesperson
  This person eats, drinks, breathes, and bleeds the company product. They are motivated and filled with knowledge about what the company does. They also believe strongly in the company as a game changer, and promote it as such with every chance they get. When expanding your sales team as the startup grows, compare any potential sales rep to this person to keep the momentum going. This is the one personality type it’s healthy to bring in as many of as possible.
• The Financial Wizard
  This person holds the keys to the vault and knows how to say, “no” to expenses the company doesn’t need. This person helps come up with ways to utilize incubator and accelerator programs to raise additional funds, and is a creative genius when it comes to getting the most from every dollar spent. The Idea Maker may think a $3,000 Eames chair is necessary to continue working, however the Financial Wizard will explain why it’s not and call in The Negotiator if necessary.

Consider closely who your founding members of your startup will be. Think about the personalities you already have on board, and see where you need to fill the gaps. It’s important to strike the right balance of individuals and positivity to keep the company healthy and evolving forward. Get more tips to keep your startup healthy from the get-go, sign up for your free subscription to Successful Startup 101.