Ask an Expert: What Skills Do I Need to Run a Startup? - Deepstash
Ask an Expert: What Skills Do I Need to Run a Startup?

Ask an Expert: What Skills Do I Need to Run a Startup?

Curated from: hbr.org

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Starting a venture

Starting a venture

To establish and run a successful business, start out by building the following skills:

  • Be proactive: This refers to your ability to “make things happen.” Proactive founders are highly engaged in the “big picture” of the company and have the ability to turn their dreams into reality.
  • Be agile: Agility is your ability to adopt a flexible mindset. Especially in times of uncertainty or crises, an agile mindset is critical to decision-making because it helps you adapt yourself quickly to a changing situation.

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An active approach towards learning

A company can continue to grow as long as the leaders are open to learning on the job, acquiring information as your company, the industry, or the world evolves, and adapting to new and challenging situations every day.

It’s this mindset that helps companies evolve, expand, and reach newer markets and audiences. When you assume that you know everything there is to know about your business, you’ll end up building a culture that’s resistant to change and slower to grow.

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An active approach towards making mistakes

This refers to your ability to acknowledge mistakes when they occur and use them as valuable lessons about yourself and your business.

Doing so will help you see the gaps in your business, lean on people with more knowledge or experience, and course-correct as you move forward. Moreover, it will free you from being over-critical or fixating on things that may hold you back.

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Building a strong team

Steve Blank proposed a theoretical model for a startup team that includes founding members with the following core skills: visionary, hacker/hardware, hustler, designer.

  • The visionary is “the person with the dream,” the one who has the inspiration and charisma to draw others to the idea.
  • The hacker is the “expert” who makes the product or service. 
  • The hustler is usually someone who can manage everything from operations to sales.
  • The designer is usually the UI/UX specialist, someone who can bridge the gap between the client, the consumer or audience, and the technology.

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Becoming a great leader

Don’t look at leadership as just a competency. Rather, it’s a relationship that you build with those who work with you and for you. You cannot impose this relationship but have to earn it over time — through daily acts of checking in with your team, communicating your vision, and caring for your employees.

You may be great at setting goals but are you in touch with your employee’s realities? Ask yourself: Do my employees feel reassured in the company’s vision? Am I communicating with clarity? Are there concerns that I may be overseeing? How do I build trust among different teams?

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IDEAS CURATED BY

jessbrewe

Geophysical data processor

Jessica Brewer's ideas are part of this journey:

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