How To Create The Perfect Founding Team

Small Business Canada

“Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.”

-Steve Jobs 

Any work properly planned, structured, and executed by a team can help reinforce skills and complete the task more quickly with a higher success rate. In addition, working as a team makes it easier to break complicated activities into smaller, more manageable tasks, plan and redefine the tasks through discussions, and optimize output through feedback.

Why a team? 

Any work can be done on our own, but the advantage of working as a team is that it provides a pool of resources, potential, ideas, and solutions that can be shared and discussed for the collective gain of the group. This also means that when setbacks happen, there is someone to assist you through the process and help you get back on track. They also help create an enjoyable and vibrant work environment, which contributes to the better productivity of the individual and team. 

How many members make up a founding team?

In business research, the ideal number for a founding team is three. Considered a magic number, a company with three founders is seen theoretically as a nice mix of leadership, strategic thinking, and operational skills. 

A team of two founders raises the risk of business disagreements, and any number of more than three is considered too large, causing conflict that affects the vision and the workflow. 

What should a founding team look like?

The founding team must share similar goals with various focus areas depending on their potential and roles in the business. They should be complementary units that can make up for one person’s lack of ability through the abilities of another. Their strengths and weaknesses should vary so that one can rise up to the situation and provide support when another falls back, ensuring consistent business growth. 

When a founding team has the magic number of three members, they fulfill particular roles in the business. The three roles are visionary, hustler, and hacker. Even when the team is less than or more than three, these three roles should be fulfilled by team members to ensure a smooth and efficient workflow. 

The company’s CEO is usually the visionary, the person who dreams and comes up with ideas and innovations that can disrupt existing market trends.  

The hustler is the jack-of-all-trades defined by their attitude rather than their position in the company. They are the doers of the group who set the pace, ensure others keep up with the momentum and are ready to put the hours in to achieve their goals. 

The hacker is the company’s brain, ensuring that the technology, processes, and hardware are robust and fit for purpose. It depends on how well a hacker makes a product that determines the business.


What values should the members share?

The success and future of any business depend on the coordination and understanding between the team members. They should have a focus that helps them work for the common and collective goals of the team. 

The team should define and determine the values and principles that form the foundation of their business and team. They should work on trust, respect, teamwork, good communication skills, and collaboration to accomplish these goals. 

A team should be built based on accountability where each member is dependable and reliable to each other. In addition, they should share chemistry and compatibility, which are also determined by the diversity in personality and functionality. 

Creating a business is a unique and challenging experience that a team of individuals can complete. Teamwork, collaboration, and communication are essential for the business’s efficient operation and expansion. Therefore, companies must create a framework where they can incorporate a collaborative culture that can foster a sense of teamwork and dedication.

The team should be composed of individuals who share a common goal and vision and can work as a team to achieve that goal while maintaining their identities. They should be the foundation of the team and the nucleus of the business and can create a sense of unity in the company. 


The founding team should establish a core value and philosophy that ensures a strong relationship between them and the rest of the business. To read more on similar topics, subscribe to  Indigenous SME Business Magazine lnkd.in/gBMWGCHX. For the latest updates, visit our Twitter page at @IndigenousSme.

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