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I'm in talks with a sales / marketing guy who knows a niche extremely well, having been a customer himself and having done a substantial amount of market research. He's looking for a hacker to implement a startup in that space, but I don't know if he has the chops to execute on the management side. Any advice?
P.S. Don't let him write the contract.
I've had similar concerns and got lucky meeting people through either acquaintances or through work. So before there was ever a business partnership relationship I got to see how the person worked with customers and other coworkers.
Good luck.
Also, sales & marketing != biz management
this reminds me of this post I read a while ago, hacker started a startup...it took off, so he decided to hire a sales guy to take it to the next level. The guy was "awesome", a genius at sales or so it seemed. Well he hired him, gave him some equity(I think), and then sat and waited for $$$ to roll in. Well it turned out the guy was just a big bullshit artist and didn't really know anything
- Superficial knowledge, but claim they know the field. When you dig deeper you find knowledge lacking. Wikipedia can help uncover this sometimes, amazingly.
- Do not read new business books.
- Haven't heard of "classic" books in the business world, e.g. good to great, crossing the chasm etc
- Business model based on a poor understanding of technology (e.g. "User generated content but restricted access site")
- No track record
- 50 years old and not rich.
- Afraid to execute (give them a hard task to complete which they could fail at and it won't get done).
- I'm always right about stuff I know nothing about syndrome. You want a partner who is complementary; he should be able to recognise what you bring to the table and should defer to you when he doesn't know.
Good luck!
Good sales people design a repeatable process around selling. They investigate the market, build a call list, and execute through the call list. They then refactor based on results. They do not throw shit wildly at the wall and hope something happens.
Good management people design business process in similar ways. Customer service is a system. Calls come in, they are processed, logs are created, and evaluations are done quarterly of the system. Apply similar methodology to hiring, to finance, to marketing, to accounting, etc. The hardest people to find are those with good strategic vision -- so if this is your idea, you need to be that person.
Some of these things are harder to assess than others. Look for people who use data to make decisions, who are 'doers', and who can describe to you the process they plan to take. Look for people who have a track record of these things in other, perhaps non-startup ways.
It is very hard. A few warning signs I have noticed over the years: - Superficial knowledge, but claim they know the field. When you dig deeper you find knowledge lacking. Wikipedia can help uncover this sometimes, amazingly. - Do not read new business books. - Haven't heard of "classic" books in the business world, e.g. good to great, crossing the chasm etc - Business model based on a poor understanding of technolog…
If a top business guy in a startup spent a meaningful amount of time reading new business books, I'd be a bit suspicious.
Your other 'warning signs' seem right on to me.
I would say references are a good start. If they are respected by their peers and customers that's going to be a good sign. The other thing is obviously their track record. If they've done good things in the past like increase sales x% or launch new initiatives. But do your own research into these matters, your 'truth' means more than what a business person says. I've had similar concerns and got lucky meeting people…
Perhaps past employers might work, but I think what you say about their track record is really the only way, outside of just knowing someone or a referral from someone you trust.