What do founders need to be most skilled at?
Lewis Herdman
17 replies
Sales? Marketing? Leadership? Other?
Replies
Paul Mbetobong@paul_mbetobong
Strategic planning is crucial. Founders need to set long-term goals and navigate the company towards them effectively.
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I think they need to be able to manage everything: sales, marketing, leadership, and all that.
We should be skilled in strategic planning. Setting long -term goals and mapping out a plan to achieve them is important for growth.
I need resilience. There will be setbacks, and I have to keep pushing forward despite them.
I must be able to delegate effectively. Trusting others with responsibilities allows me to focus on the bigger picture.
Founders need strong leadership skills to guide their team and make key decisions effectively
Being able to clearly communicate ideas and goals is crucial for aligning the team and engaging with stakeholders.
The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and pivot when necessary is key to navigating the startup world.
Launching soon!
Building relationships.
Sales skills are essential. Being able to pitch and close deals can significantly impact the company's success.
Adaptability is important. Being able to pivot and adjust strategies in response to market changes can drive success.
Communication skills are essential. Clear communication with the team, investors, and customers helps in building strong relationships and ensuring everyone is attractive.
Launching soon!
Ability to learn things quickly
minimalist phone: creating folders
Communication, tenacity and they must be resourceful.
But I would say leadership.
Launching soon!
A Founder can only take charge of 2 functions at most, the first is fixed, and the second is floating.
The 7 functions are:
1. Sales
2. Marketing
3. Finance & Accounts
4. Operations
5. HR & People Management
6. R&D
7. Leadership
The fixed function of the founder is Leadership... where do we go, what’s the direction, what’s the target for the next year... what are the macro trends, and which trend will we ride while keeping our values and mission in order.
Also, founder should ideally have another person ready to take over the floating function when it's time for founder to move on to another.
so, Lewis what function would you choose as fixed function and floating function?
I think a founder is a combination of developer, product manager,marketing manager and sales, also he or she need leadership to identify correct team members and users. It’s more like a superman hahahaha
Launching soon!
Top skills will be
Talking to customers (important for early startups)
Sales & Marketing
Leadership, Team management & Direction