Team Building Startup Founders Challenges

Team Building in a Startup 😊🚀

When I first came to Singapore, I worked at NTU as a researcher and I was looking for my next challenge in a new country. Back then, there were quite a few new startups emerging every day, and every school and public institution provided lots of incubator programs. It was somewhat of a trend for young founders to attend these programs. Every week, a well-known incubator would host a Friday event where founders could network over drinks. 🥂🌟

I attended one of the programs with my (potential) co-founders. I met a team with two PhD candidates majoring in Computer Science. The team came across as somewhat arrogant. I’m not sure what their idea was, but it was strongly related to their research. Throughout the program, they always tried to point out flaws in every single team, no matter what. Sometimes, it seemed like they were trying to play the role of a professor, believing they were always right while others were wrong. 😅👨‍🏫

One day, I attended a Friday event, and the same team was there. During the event, founders could ask other attendees questions. One of the guys from the team grabbed a mic and told us about their idea and company. They mentioned they were looking for a co-founder, and when the moderator asked about the role, their reply was quite shocking.

They were seeking a CTO because they were too busy to handle the technical development of the startup themselves. They saw themselves as the CEO and COO. The room fell silent. Most people had expected them to be looking for a co-founder as a CEO. 😲🤯

I don’t know whether the team eventually became a successful company or faded away. It’s possible they never even launched their product. Sometimes, what strikes me as odd is how often founders claim to be too busy to handle certain aspects and therefore seek additional co-founders. While this might sound reasonable, finding another co-founder with the same skill set or similar domains doesn’t necessarily make the startup journey more enjoyable. And in most cases, the founders may want to act like something else rather than humble founders who go through every single problem.

Wonder what they really want… 🤔🤷‍♂️

hashag#startups #founders #teambuilding