High intelligence, High Energy, and High Integrity.

Calling, Competence, Character, Chemistry, and Capacity. 

The team makes or breaks a startup. Therefore, selection is the key to success. Entrepreneurs must wisely and intentionally select their co-founders and hires because team resonance begins with team selection. 

When picking co-founders or hires, It is important to pay attention to 3 highs – 

high intelligence, high energy, and high integrity¹ – broadly, and 5 Cs – Calling, Competence, Character, Chemistry, and Capacity – specifically.

Broadly speaking, the 3 highs are: 

1. High Intelligence: Choosing to work with highly intelligent people to is essential for a startup to be successful. Intelligence is not a pejorative – it is not about labelling someone to be smart and someone else to be stupid. Forming a team of highly intelligent people is all about picking individuals who are highly intelligent in specific things. It is important to pick individuals who are highly intelligent in areas which you are not as smart in when forming a team. Complimentary intelligence within a team brings with it complimentary skillsets within a team. 

2. High Energy: Startup is a grind. It takes an individual with sustained high energy to survive the grind. In life, there are no get-rich-quick schemes. If anyone is pitching a get-rich-quick scheme to you, it is scheme get rich off you. Startups take time and it is all hard work. It takes 10 years minimally to build a career in anything. It takes 10 years minimally to build a business. Only high energy founders and teams will win the startup race to success. 

3. High Integrity: Having high integrity is about being highly ethical. If honesty is about keeping it real in the presence of people, integrity is about keeping it real in the absence of people. People with high integrity are highly reliable. You will need reliable people to get work done when the going gets tough.

The aforementioned 3 highs are cornerstones to building a successful startup that must not be compromised. A high-energy teammate who lacks intelligence will only work hard at getting nowhere. A high-intelligent and high-energy teammate who lacks integrity is just a smart and hardworking crook. 

Once the 3 highs are taken care of broadly, entrepreneurs must pay attention to the 5 Cs specifically: 

1. Calling: There is usually a distinct and unmistakable calling in the life of an entrepreneur. It is essential that an entrepreneur can discern if would-be co-founders or hires share the same calling. It is calling separates the mercenaries from the missionaries. With calling, occupation becomes a vocation. With calling comes conviction, and conviction ensures long-term commitment till success happens. 

2. Character: Never compromise on character. It is everything. An individual’s wholeness and basic commitment to integrity are paramount to a startup’s success. Character reveals the inner moral compass of an individual. Startups will be at risk if the people within the startup has flawed character, no matter how competent they may be.

3. Competence: A good person with good character does not always produce good work. This happens when there is a mismatch of talents and role. There has to be a match in abilities and roles, except for the purpose of challenging growth and development. People will be empowered to operate at their best as team members when they are in the right roles. Without this clear matching, founders risk mediocrity. 

4. Chemistry: It is all about team fit and camaraderie. It is difficult to change someone to fit into an existing culture. Therefore, a founder must ensure a right fit at the point of teammates selection. 

While Chemistry is about unity, unity is not about uniformity. Unity is about upholding diversity in a team.  It is not ‘even though we’re different, we are one. It is because we are different, we are one.’² A group of strong individuals can make great team players in a startup. It is all about attitude. It is important for a founder to pick those who have chemistry in a team in spite of being different. 

5. Capacity: As a founder, you will be preoccupied with capital development, but you must never neglect capacity development. 

Capacity must not be confused with capability. Capacity is the inner and emotional strength which allows a person to function efficaciously even when under pressure. Make no mistake, there will be pressure aplenty in your startup journey.  Capacity can be developed over time. The person who has the well of capacity usually has a deep reservoir of endurance, confidence, and knowledge to finish well.

It is the founder’s responsibility as a leader to develop his/her personal capacity and the team’s capacity.