When there's just one of you in the business, you're it -- brand, culture, deliverer of the customer experience. But as you hire employees and start to build out the organization, other personalities come to affect customer experience. That in turn affects your business brand. So it is important to set the right tone from the very start: Create a productive, effective company culture.
Some good suggestions come from Greg Gottesman in John Cook's Venture Blog. He advocates 13 rules to building a great startup culture:
- No politics
- It's not a job, it's a mission
- Intolerance for mediocrity
- Watching pennies
- Equity-driven
- Perfect alignment
- Good communication even in bad times
- Strong leadership
- Mutual respect
- Customer-obsessed
- High energy level
- Fun
- Integrity
Do you think your ego can live with these rules, even #7 and #9? How about #5, equity-driven? Would you be willing to grant a share of the business to people who really believe #2? If so, and you have a great product for the current market, hire the right team and make it happen
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