Building a business is easier and tougher than ever. Over a decade ago, I was a college student exploring all sorts of business concepts, from a grocery delivery service to a doggy toy subscription service. I spent hours extracting market research data from specialized websites after consulting with mentors about data sources. We now have the world’s libraries at the tip of our fingers with AI, yet the top three reasons startups fail haven’t changed since. Wilbur Labs’ 2026 survey tells us where things have gone wrong for founders most recently, including: Market dynamics, running out of money, and people issues (such as making the wrong hire, misalignment with investors, and co-founder conflict). Back in 2016, when I was working at a business incubator, we shared the same data with entrepreneurs. What were the top three reasons businesses failed? 1. No market need; 2. running out of cash; 2. not the right team. Although I spent five years in the wonderful world of entrepreneurship, I now focus on people and helping my organization build (and keep) the right team.
Team alignment from day one is so important, whether you’re bringing on a co-founder/early advisors or leveraging seed capital to make your first key hires. Here is what I recommend:
Step 1: Start with your Strengths
I am a huge fan of the CliftonStrengths Assessment because it’s based on the philosophy that we can reach our full intended potential by better understanding our strengths and talents. If you decide to take it and are short on cash, I suggest sticking with the top 5 strengths test for $25, which includes the test and the e-book for reference. If you are a fan of other strengths-based tests, that’s great; the bottom line is this – Know your strengths and how you can use them to create value for your customers.
Step 2: Ask Yourself, What Does the Business Model Require?
Take a look at your business model canvas, that one-page plan you’re trying to validate or scale. Examine it again with this framework in mind: Competency Modeling; this model is typically used in organizations to map knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA’s) required of staff, teams, or the whole organization to deliver business objectives. The model is used in succession planning, training and development, recruitment, and more. Take an inventory of the KSA’s needed to perform the key activities in your business that fuel the value proposition. For example, your business requires B2B sales, and your strength as a communicator will get you ahead; perhaps there’s a network/knowledge gap that could be complemented with an additional team member or a training for yourself that can help your business succeed faster. Ps: AI can be a great tool for this step if you’re comfortable with sharing the business model with these systems.
Step 3: Conduct a Gap Analysis
Look ahead: What would it take to deliver the same (or an evolving value proposition) in your industry five or ten years from now? Today’s world is moving at a faster pace than ever before; only organizations that look ahead and stay nimble survive. It’s crucial to understand the KSA’s needed now and in the future so you can plan to close those gaps over time. Start with your immediate team of co-founders, advisors, or initial staff. Let’s say your top five strengths are those in this sample strengths report. What’s missing that would enable your business to deliver the value proposition better, faster, or cheaper than your competitors? Prioritize needs based on the operational capacity needed to bring in revenue in the next 12 months, and chip away at the gaps over time to ensure what’s needed at scale is built in phases. Next, start networking!
Step 4: Sourcing Talent
The idea behind sourcing talent is to get a wide enough “candidate” pool to have options. Once you define what good talent looks like (tangible competencies, cultural alignment, and personality/workstyles), evaluate your potential talent sources. Business incubators or tools like CoFoundersLab may help you hone down a co-founder. When it comes to finding a “sounding board” for your business, you’ll need to find folks in your network whom you’ve gained trust with already because, let’s be real, if you’re just starting, it’s likely not going to be a paid gig; they have to believe in you and your vision enough to invest their time and commitment. To find board members, think about former business partners, bosses, mentors, colleagues, or college professors that align with your industry and complement your skill sets or network. Lastly, if you’re posting a job on your site and job boards, I would recommend branching out and attending college or government-led career fairs, advertising on social media, and encouraging referrals from your network.
Step 5: The Interview Process
Before you meet with folks, take the list of competencies from your gap analysis and use AI tools to help you brainstorm. Draft behavioral/situational questions that allow you to really understand people’s experiences, behaviors, and approaches to their work. To minimize bias and ensure your business evaluates the KSAs, attitudes, and behaviors that fit best in your organization, I recommend using a candidate scoring rubric and having additional trusted people join you in those conversations. Boost your chances of success by administering a DISC assessment in your recruitment process to help you optimize the team.
Step 6: Gaining Agreement Up Front
Imagine having to ask board members to step away from the board during an in-person meeting. Sound terrifying? That’s the situation I faced in my early 20s, and you know it wasn’t too bad because I had an incredible mentor who reminded me to:
- Be the most prepared person in the room.
- Anchor difficult conversations in a neutral document (such as bylaws containing 3-year term language).
When you bring someone into your business without written agreements up front, conflict or at least confusion is sure to arise. Be prepared and have a lawyer review documents up front – Whether it’s a C-Corp or B-Corp application, or an employment offer letter. Remember that your company’s perception in the eyes of board or staff candidates starts on day one, when they’re first contacted; keep in touch and be respectful of their time.
Step 7: Reinforcing Values and Expectations
Congratulations, you’ve got a killer board ready to steer the ship with you, and perhaps even a talented go-getter ready to take on the world by your side. But hold on, it doesn’t stop there. The way you show up every day shapes the culture forever… alright, maybe not forever, but at least while you have enough bandwidth or enough revenue to build a leadership or an HR team that can reshape your organization’s culture. So start early, embody the values and practices you authentically believe in and that work for your organization, incorporate them day-to-day, and expect the same from those around you, continuously. Only then will you realize the organization you originally envisioned.
About the author
Juliana Townes is a driven bilingual leader who has leveraged her education and work experience to strengthen many operational aspects of organizations ranging between 1-400+ employees including product-market fit, marketing, fundraising and sales funnels, program management, HR management, communications, legal compliance, and policy development. Throughout the process of change and improvement, Juliana has brought a spirit of collaboration, and positivity to every team. She’ can be reached via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/julianatownes
