Looking to Build a Team

[CRoberts92486]

What I have been doing lately is looking online (craigslist, entrepreneur forums) at people looking to start a business. They have outstanding ideas but do not know where to begin when it comes to marketing/web design/seeking investments/developing.

My goal is to build a team…
1 Content Writer
1 Marketing Professional
1 Web Designer
1 Developer

What we do is help the individual build their business from the ground up. We seek investment for them, either via kickstarter or private investors, we develop their websites, marketing plans/tactics, or develop software.

In exchange for our work we receive an equity percentage in their company.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks
Chris

 

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[Mike39]

Well gee this just sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime doesn't it? Where do I sign up :smilielol:

 

[CRoberts92486]

Changed the first line. Hopefully it sounds better.

 

[Mike39]

Oh that's MUCH better, I think people will be interested now....

 

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[Mike39]

I will say this very simply and leave the rest up to you to figure out. What value are you providing in your post that would get an individual interested in working with/for you?

 

[AgonI]

I have about 200 ideas right now, 10 of them are very good. Looking for 100 people to work on these top 10 ideas. I will manage and own everything, you will do all the work. Please pm me for more details on how to get started

 

[CRoberts92486]

Mike - Fixed! Thanks

Agon - Nice theory! Wish it worked like that.

 

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[mapaul04]

What I have been doing lately is looking online (craigslist, entrepreneur forums) at people looking to start a business. They have outstanding ideas but do not know where to begin when it comes to marketing/web design/seeking investments/developing.

My goal is to build a team…
1 Content Writer
1 Marketing Professional
1 Web Designer
1 Developer

What we do is help the individual build their business from the ground up. We seek investment for them, either via kickstarter or private investors, we develop their websites, marketing plans/tactics, or develop software.

In exchange for our work we receive an equity percentage in their company. It may be a low 4-8% based on the work involved but if we get a couple of these going there is a lot of growth potential.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks
Chris

If youre doing all the work why are you only taking 4-8%. Personally I dont think its a good idea because you will have a hard time finding people that will be willing to work for equity, there are tons of other reasons I dont think you will find interest in your project from thsi website but I could be wrong.

Your person is offering up an idea and gets to keep 90+ percent of the company while you have 5 people work on their project for FREE only taking a small stake.. Does this not sound a bit crazy to you? Do you watch shark tank?

PS. If you do get this put together I will gladly use your team, in fact I will give you 12% of my company for your services, feel free to PM me if you find 5 people.

 

[Nomangee]

I will give you instant 15% of my company if you can provide 5 people with this knowledge.

ps: execution > ideas, look at the samwer brothers from germany as the best example.

 

[InLikeFlint]

What happens if you find an awesome idea, spend 3 months working on it, release it and it tanks? That's 3 months down the drain if you aren't receiving up front payment, milestone payment, or completion payment. Plus the equity should be up in the 20-30% if we are doing everything and they do is have the idea.

I like your idea, but you need to rethink it logically. How much we would receive, guidelines. Right now it seems like a shower idea, where you thought of it in the shower and immediately went to your computer in your towel to post it. Ideas need planning and lots of thinking, take like 10 minutes everyday to think about and jot down ideas for this, then after you have more than a few lines of ideas, report back.

 

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[GetShitDone]

Hmm, I thought of an idea like this a couple weeks back but since I'm busy with my current and first start up I couldn't begin execution. It's a really good idea and I think you need to take a larger stake in the company if you were to do all the work with 5 people on your team. I'm sure the person will be more then willing to give you a larger stake if they see that you are bringing SO much expertise to the table with SO much effort into the company to make it a success.

Cheers

 

[DennisD]

Do you watch shows like shark tank and wish you could sit in the shark's shoes? IF you've ever wanted to be an investor but don't have the cash, I have the perfect opportunity for you!

I currently run an operation that launches non-tech startups in exchange for equity.

My current client is a freelance electrician of 20 years who just got his masters license. He can now legally have up to 20 journeymen working under him. He has 200K in investment funds, lives in a very ritzy area with nearly no competition.

Looking for content producers, web designers, and marketers who want to own 2% of his business in exchange for 12 weeks of work. If you do a good job, I'll keep you around for the next gig and you can have an opportunity to own 2% of another business.

Something like this would get attention. It's concrete and has a clear benefit to me. Instead you say things like:

"I'm building a team"
"I'm starting a business"
"I'm developing a product"
"I'm getting everything prepared"
"Looking for a partner"
"I'm building the infrastructure"

These are all things people say. Generally, people who aren't on the road to success.

Listen bro, here's a much better strategy... It doesn't SOUND to the average Joe like it makes sense... If you can make things happen you're not the Average Joe:

1) Get your first customer
2) Build your team.

Building a team will be a lot easier for you once you have a client landed. I'm not going to commit my time to some clown who doesn't look like he's got his stuff together. If you really had experience building businesses..

Just start them yourself. Keep 100%. Use your knowledge to open a 50 freakin stores across the country, or 50 freakin infoproduct businesses.

Or get the gigs, keep the 8% equity FOR YOURSELF, and pay the people working under you cash. Then you can post on craigslist and forums saying "looking for a content producer, I pay $20/well written article." Then you'd attract winners instead of losers.

As it stands, 95% of the people who want to work with you will be losers.

 

[CRoberts92486]

If youre doing all the work why are you only taking 4-8%. Personally I dont think its a good idea because you will have a hard time finding people that will be willing to work for equity, there are tons of other reasons I dont think you will find interest in your project from thsi website but I could be wrong.

Your person is offering up an idea and gets to keep 90+ percent of the company while you have 5 people work on their project for FREE only taking a small stake.. Does this not sound a bit crazy to you? Do you watch shark tank?

PS. If you do get this put together I will gladly use your team, in fact I will give you 12% of my company for your services, feel free to PM me if you find 5 people.

Thanks, I agree, I should increase the %. I will be in touch when I find the 5 people.

 

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[CRoberts92486]

I will give you instant 15% of my company if you can provide 5 people with this knowledge.

ps: execution > ideas, look at the samwer brothers from germany as the best example.

I will be in touch when i build a team.

Samwer Brothers - Good Example, briefly looked into them, will read more tonight. Thanks!

 

[CRoberts92486]

What happens if you find an awesome idea, spend 3 months working on it, release it and it tanks? That's 3 months down the drain if you aren't receiving up front payment, milestone payment, or completion payment. Plus the equity should be up in the 20-30% if we are doing everything and they do is have the idea.

I like your idea, but you need to rethink it logically. How much we would receive, guidelines. Right now it seems like a shower idea, where you thought of it in the shower and immediately went to your computer in your towel to post it. Ideas need planning and lots of thinking, take like 10 minutes everyday to think about and jot down ideas for this, then after you have more than a few lines of ideas, report back.

I like your idea about up front payment, milestone payments. I have to take this into consideration. Back to the drawing board.

Great Advice!!

 

[CRoberts92486]

Hmm, I thought of an idea like this a couple weeks back but since I'm busy with my current and first start up I couldn't begin execution. It's a really good idea and I think you need to take a larger stake in the company if you were to do all the work with 5 people on your team. I'm sure the person will be more then willing to give you a larger stake if they see that you are bringing SO much expertise to the table with SO much effort into the company to make it a success.

Cheers

Id like to hear more about your ideas for this business. Care to share via PM?
How is your first start-up going?

 

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[CRoberts92486]

Do you watch shows like shark tank and wish you could sit in the shark's shoes? IF you've ever wanted to be an investor but don't have the cash, I have the perfect opportunity for you!

I currently run an operation that launches non-tech startups in exchange for equity.

My current client is a freelance electrician of 20 years who just got his masters license. He can now legally have up to 20 journeymen working under him. He has 200K in investment funds, lives in a very ritzy area with nearly no competition.

Looking for content producers, web designers, and marketers who want to own 2% of his business in exchange for 12 weeks of work. If you do a good job, I'll keep you around for the next gig and you can have an opportunity to own 2% of another business.

Something like this would get attention. It's concrete and has a clear benefit to me. Instead you say things like:

"I'm building a team"
"I'm starting a business"
"I'm developing a product"
"I'm getting everything prepared"
"Looking for a partner"
"I'm building the infrastructure"

These are all things people say. Generally, people who aren't on the road to success.

Listen bro, here's a much better strategy... It doesn't SOUND to the average Joe like it makes sense... If you can make things happen you're not the Average Joe:

1) Get your first customer
2) Build your team.

Building a team will be a lot easier for you once you have a client landed. I'm not going to commit my time to some clown who doesn't look like he's got his stuff together. If you really had experience building businesses..

Just start them yourself. Keep 100%. Use your knowledge to open a 50 freakin stores across the country, or 50 freakin infoproduct businesses.

Or get the gigs, keep the 8% equity FOR YOURSELF, and pay the people working under you cash. Then you can post on craigslist and forums saying "looking for a content producer, I pay $20/well written article." Then you'd attract winners instead of losers.

As it stands, 95% of the people who want to work with you will be losers.

Thanks for the reply. You bring a lot of valid points. I will be taking this into consideration.
I like to idea of keeping 100% for myself and paying the individuals in cash, but with 5 people looking for investment opportunities also, it opens up a lot more options to get the jobs in return for equity. I have a lot to put together.

 

[mayana]

My question is:

"Why would I hire you".

If I am someone who has a great idea and wants to start a business, the biggest mistake I could make would be to outsource THE ENTIRE PROCESS.

Ideas are worthless, generally. I bet there are millions of great ideas, collectively, from all of the members of the forum.

Back to your business idea. If I'm starting my business and I partner with you, how can you demonstrate to me that I should hire you? Have you successfully launched a dozen successful companies in the past?

I don't know you, but if you have successfully launched a dozen successful companies, why would you do all of that work for such a small amount of equity?

I usually don't weigh in negatively on an idea, but I think you'd be wasting your time on this. Anyone who is really serious about starting a business knows that they have to do a lot of the initial work themselves.

Why don't you just use an idea for yourself and then hire some of those hypothetical experts to help you?

 

[CRoberts92486]

My question is:

"Why would I hire you".

If I am someone who has a great idea and wants to start a business, the biggest mistake I could make would be to outsource THE ENTIRE PROCESS.

Ideas are worthless, generally. I bet there are millions of great ideas, collectively, from all of the members of the forum.

Back to your business idea. If I'm starting my business and I partner with you, how can you demonstrate to me that I should hire you? Have you successfully launched a dozen successful companies in the past?

I don't know you, but if you have successfully launched a dozen successful companies, why would you do all of that work for such a small amount of equity?

I usually don't weigh in negatively on an idea, but I think you'd be wasting your time on this. Anyone who is really serious about starting a business knows that they have to do a lot of the initial work themselves.

Why don't you just use an idea for yourself and then hire some of those hypothetical experts to help you?

It may seem I am trying to outsource the whole process, I am not. I will offer services. We may only need a marketing professional for one project and a developer for another. We wont use the whole team for one project. That will require a lot more equity in exchange.

I am currently working with 3 start ups myself. I took these because I can handle what they require. I can see this getting a lot more involved when people need web designers and developers. These 3 will be the start to my portfolio of success.

I am rethinking equity and edited my original post. This will be left open to negotiation based on each individual project.

Currently i am seeking individuals for my own project that I started. I am having luck but haven't signed a contract yet.

Thank you for your input!

 

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[Gold777]

I am currently working with 3 start ups myself.

And just how successful are those other startups? Why don't you focus your time and resources on growing those instead of starting yet ANOTHER company? That makes it seem as if you're not stable and you jump around from idea to idea a lot.

Look, here's what's wrong with this picture:

1. You have "3 startups" already, yet you're still looking for a team

2. You're looking to help someone that won't even help themselves, you want to build up a team (do all that work for them, of selling their idea), seek investment for them (which isn't even guaranteed, and even then, why would you necessarily need an investment right away when you have a team?, and then in exchange for your services you get a small percent of equity in a company that YOU built... but for someone else...

So if you already have 3 startups that you're tied up with, and the person whose idea you will help turn into a company doesn't have the motivation, skills, or possibly even vision to even run a company, yet you're going to do everything for them anyway. What happens when that person disappears for a month without telling anyone? What happens when that person does 0% of the work but is raking in money off you? What happens if the company pivots and has a completely new idea that you came up with, but that person still has X% of unwarranted equity in the company and contributes nothing? What happens when the growth of your company is dependent upon raising money but you can't raise any?

This whole thing sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Why do you need 3 companies to start your portfolio of success when you could just have one great successful one?

That's just idiotic, it sounds like you don't know just how hard trying to get a startup to success really is. I have a team I manage for a fairly simple startup, but there's a lot of work that went behind it and that continues to go behind it. I'm working on a little project on the side of another great idea I have in mind and I catch shit from it from one of my partners all the time. Why? Because if you're going to build a company you need to be 100% focused on it, there's always something you need to be doing, people you need to be contacting, or things you have to be thinking about concerning the future and growth of that company. Any distractions will prevent you from doing this effectively. The ONLY exception to this is if you have nearly everything figured out and everything is going smoothly, and you have a clear vision in mind of how you want things to be when all is said and done. But 9 times out of 10 that isn't the case because things are always switching, or something just doesn't go as planned.

Since I've built up a solid team once we've launched our current startup into success, then MAYBE we can think about looking into starting another one. My team right now is focused, they're sold on my idea and can see it being successful, they know their roles, they get shit done when it needs to be done, they're constantly working, they're comfortable working with each other, and since our product has been in development for quite some time they're ready for this thing to finally launch within the next week just as much as I am. However, I'm not going to throw them off track by putting my side project in their face and telling them to start working on it, because that would mess up the whole flow.

If there's a boxer in the ring, say he's in the red corner, and then there's 3 other fighters in the blue corner that are going to fight him. That boxer can no longer focus on just one fighter, his skills won't be concentrated on just one fighter or else he'll REALLY get his a$$ kicked then. That's how your idea looks, your team will be the red corner, and those 3 startups will be the blue corner. What the hell do you think is going to happen if you try to start with 3 projects or more? Your team is going to get overwhelmed, distracted, and all jumbled up because they're all going to be thinking about and focusing on different things at once.

Also, no one is going to waste their time joining your team if you don't even have an idea.

Think about it, let's say I'm a professional coder. You come to me and say ..

"Hey I'm looking to put together a team for a company, will you join?"

Me: Umm, what's the company about?

"I don't know yet, we're going to take someone else's idea who doesn't know where to start and build it for them for a small percent of their equity."

Me: Yeah.. good luck with that.

Then think of how crazy it sounds when you throw into the mix that you're already working on 3 startups... THEN think of how crazy it would sound to an investor, when you're trying to raise funding and you have 5 people on your team, and one of them contributes absolutely nothing. You show up to a meeting and introduce everyone, and the investor asks who's that guy behind you? And you turn around and say "Oh that's the umm.. erm, CEO, he came up with the idea". Well the investor asks what exactly is his role? "Erm, he has the idea sir, we handle everything else.



I'm done, but good luck with that lol.

 

[CRoberts92486]

And just how successful are those other startups? Why don't you focus your time and resources on growing those instead of starting yet ANOTHER company? That makes it seem as if you're not stable and you jump around from idea to idea a lot.

Look, here's what's wrong with this picture:

1. You have "3 startups" already, yet you're still looking for a team

2. You're looking to help someone that won't even help themselves, you want to build up a team (do all that work for them, of selling their idea), seek investment for them (which isn't even guaranteed, and even then, why would you necessarily need an investment right away when you have a team?, and then in exchange for your services you get a small percent of equity in a company that YOU built... but for someone else...

So if you already have 3 startups that you're tied up with, and the person whose idea you will help turn into a company doesn't have the motivation, skills, or possibly even vision to even run a company, yet you're going to do everything for them anyway. What happens when that person disappears for a month without telling anyone? What happens when that person does 0% of the work but is raking in money off you? What happens if the company pivots and has a completely new idea that you came up with, but that person still has X% of unwarranted equity in the company and contributes nothing? What happens when the growth of your company is dependent upon raising money but you can't raise any?

This whole thing sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Why do you need 3 companies to start your portfolio of success when you could just have one great successful one?

That's just idiotic, it sounds like you don't know just how hard trying to get a startup to success really is. I have a team I manage for a fairly simple startup, but there's a lot of work that went behind it and that continues to go behind it. I'm working on a little project on the side of another great idea I have in mind and I catch shit from it from one of my partners all the time. Why? Because if you're going to build a company you need to be 100% focused on it, there's always something you need to be doing, people you need to be contacting, or things you have to be thinking about concerning the future and growth of that company. Any distractions will prevent you from doing this effectively. The ONLY exception to this is if you have nearly everything figured out and everything is going smoothly, and you have a clear vision in mind of how you want things to be when all is said and done. But 9 times out of 10 that isn't the case because things are always switching, or something just doesn't go as planned.

Since I've built up a solid team once we've launched our current startup into success, then MAYBE we can think about looking into starting another one. My team right now is focused, they're sold on my idea and can see it being successful, they know their roles, they get shit done when it needs to be done, they're constantly working, they're comfortable working with each other, and since our product has been in development for quite some time they're ready for this thing to finally launch within the next week just as much as I am. However, I'm not going to throw them off track by putting my side project in their face and telling them to start working on it, because that would mess up the whole flow.

If there's a boxer in the ring, say he's in the red corner, and then there's 3 other fighters in the blue corner that are going to fight him. That boxer can no longer focus on just one fighter, his skills won't be concentrated on just one fighter or else he'll REALLY get his a$$ kicked then. That's how your idea looks, your team will be the red corner, and those 3 startups will be the blue corner. What the hell do you think is going to happen if you try to start with 3 projects or more? Your team is going to get overwhelmed, distracted, and all jumbled up because they're all going to be thinking about and focusing on different things at once.

Also, no one is going to waste their time joining your team if you don't even have an idea.

Think about it, let's say I'm a professional coder. You come to me and say ..

"Hey I'm looking to put together a team for a company, will you join?"

Me: Umm, what's the company about?

"I don't know yet, we're going to take someone else's idea who doesn't know where to start and build it for them for a small percent of their equity."

Me: Yeah.. good luck with that.

Then think of how crazy it sounds when you throw into the mix that you're already working on 3 startups... THEN think of how crazy it would sound to an investor, when you're trying to raise funding and you have 5 people on your team, and one of them contributes absolutely nothing. You show up to a meeting and introduce everyone, and the investor asks who's that guy behind you? And you turn around and say "Oh that's the umm.. erm, CEO, he came up with the idea". Well the investor asks what exactly is his role? "Erm, he has the idea sir, we handle everything else.



I'm done, but good luck with that lol.

While i definitely see where your going. Your missing one point. The WHOLE team is not going to be involved in every project. If someone needs a marketing professional and a developer, only those 2 from the team will be involved in that specific venture. The others will not be involved. I don't necessarily have to start with a team but it would be nice to have contacts to go to when I do need them or in the near future when this grows.

 

[Gold777]

While i definitely see where your going. Your missing one point. The WHOLE team is not going to be involved in every project. If someone needs a marketing professional and a developer, only those 2 from the team will be involved in that specific venture. The others will not be involved. I don't necessarily have to start with a team but it would be nice to have contacts to go to when I do need them or in the near future when this grows.

But you would still be working on multiple projects at once right? So if one project needs a marketing professional and a developer, then that means the other projects will lack a marketing professional and developer...

And if you don't need to start with a team, then why waste your time looking for one when it definitely isn't going to come as easy as you think. You have no good idea to sell them on right now, so they have no reason to join. It's also harder growing an idea that isn't yours because you will never share the vision that the inventor of that idea has, and because of that you will always need to be dependent on their drive to get things done.

You really just may want to rethink this whole thing, and you never answered my question. How are those other 3 startups coming along and why don't you just focus your time and efforts on those instead of trying to work for someone else on their idea instead of yours?

 

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[CRoberts92486]

But you would still be working on multiple projects at once right? So if one project needs a marketing professional and a developer, then that means the other projects will lack a marketing professional and developer...

And if you don't need to start with a team, then why are waste your time looking for one when it definitely isn't going to come as easy as you think. You have no good idea to sell them on right now, so they have no reason to join. It's also harder growing an idea that isn't yours because you will never share the vision that the inventor of that idea has, and because of that you will always need to be dependent on their drive to get things done.

You really just may want to rethink this whole thing, and you never answered my question. How are those other 3 startups coming along and why don't you just focus your time and efforts on those instead of trying to work for someone else on their idea instead of yours?

The 3 start ups are coming along good.
1. almost done with development, need to raise 5k funding for server costs and we launch.
2. Waiting on art to be finished so we can use demo and screenshots for marketing.
3. In start up phase, solid niche idea, laying out the details and working with a web developer for draft site.

4. My own start-up, Website finished, feedback received, marketing in place, working with developers on quotes, and deciding between 2 investors. They have different ideas on how they want to proceed and being I have a partner in this we have been negotiating.

Things for myself are going good but it would be great to have contacts when something comes my way I can give them the info and let them decide if they want to work on the specific project.

 

[Gold777]

1. almost done with development, need to raise 5k funding for server costs and we launch.

I have no words for this.

2. Waiting on art to be finished so we can use demo and screenshots for marketing.

I also have no words for this.

3. In start up phase, solid niche idea, laying out the details and working with a web developer for draft site.

Why don't you put that money for the web developer towards raising $5k for funding the server in your first idea? This is one of the cons of working on multiple ideas at once.

4. My own start-up, Website finished, feedback received, marketing in place, working with developers on quotes, and deciding between 2 investors. They have different ideas on how they want to proceed and being I have a partner in this we have been negotiating.

If the website is finished, etc, then what for are you getting quotes from developers? And do these potential investors know that you're also working on 3 other ideas at the same time and trying to work on more? I've never heard of ANY investor wanting to invest in someone who's working on multiple ideas at the same time. You never hear about it because it never happens, seasoned investors know how important it is for the founders to be concentrated on just one core idea/company.

So, you have 3 startups and you're waiting for something on every single one, when you could have just concentrated all your resources on one idea and had it launched by now. Also, you mind sharing the website from your own startup?

 

[CRoberts92486]

I have no words for this.



I also have no words for this.



Why don't you put that money for the web developer towards raising $5k for funding the server in your first idea? This is one of the cons of working on multiple ideas at once.



If the website is finished, etc, then what for are you getting quotes from developers? And do these potential investors know that you're also working on 3 other ideas at the same time and trying to work on more? I've never heard of ANY investor wanting to invest in someone who's working on multiple ideas at the same time. You never hear about it because it never happens, seasoned investors know how important it is for the founders to be concentrated on just one core idea/company.

So, you have 3 startups and you're waiting for something on every single one, when you could have just concentrated all your resources on one idea and had it launched by now. Also, you mind sharing the website from your own startup?

Sending you a PM

 

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[Chris Becker]

Equity building

Do you have any concerns about a person working and being rewarded that equity, and then dropping off until a liquidation event? Vested equity is a work-to-build-equity phrase that I came across recently (knew the structure, didn't know it had a name). I am using that with my web/app developer, and offering a 5% founder's guaranteed equity, so if he is halfway through building v1.0 and gets hurt, can't work anymore, moves to a remote island near Cuba without internet... he is guaranteed the equity for the work he does. Can build up to 30% in my case. I will keep the forum posted on how it goes. Good luck with your project!