Utilium

When you have finished studying this module, you will be able to fulfill the following learning objectives:

• Identify factors in deciding to go solo or form a team.
• Evaluate productive ways to build teams and work with outside help.
• Describe the qualities of effective entrepreneurial leaders.
• Explain the roles of advisors and a board of directors.
• Practice interpersonal skills in networking and negotiating.
• Discuss the art of balancing work and life.

The module opens with a video about the success of a founding team that started small and grew to serve a high-end international market. What challenges did this new venture team overcome?

The abilities and skills of the founder or founding team are perhaps the most critical factor in the success of a new venture. The success of the entrepreneurial venture rests squarely on the specific actions of the founder and founding team (West, 2007). This accountability is in contrast to that in large companies, which often have skilled executive teams and middle managers as well as a stockpile of intellectual and financial capital to work with. Accordingly, investors will often state that they prefer a grade A founder or founding team with a grade B venture idea rather than the reverse.

Why are the abilities of the founders so critical to the success of the new venture?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of starting a new venture on a solo basis?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of starting a new venture with a partner or team?

With a new venture team, as in a marriage, you work intensely with partners for a prolonged period of time. For this reason, it’s essential that you find the right individuals to partner with and set up the right structures and processes for working together and resolving conflicts. The team can be a great advantage to new venture formation, or it can become a major hurdle to achieving success.

According to the resources in this section, what important issues should you consider when selecting partners for a new venture?

After you have selected partners to work with, how can you build the management team over time?

What are some perils you should look out for when selecting and building a team?

Many individuals starting new ventures for the first time lack the requisite leadership skills to manage the new venture through the formation and growth process (Boeker and Wiltbank, 2005). Leadership skills are needed for a variety of responsibilities, such as establishing a vision, determining goals and expectations, motivating and communicating with employees, delegating work and tasks, and decisive decision making. As a leader it’s also important to set and model standards and values for an organization, including those relating to ethics and social responsibility.

The first step in leading is determining your core values, which will serve as a fundamental guide to your actions and the actions of your organization. Develop a list of your core values by following the Lex Sisney video.

According to the information in the Knowledge at Wharton podcast, what are some key attributes of a good entrepreneurial leader? Can you envision other important attributes?

From the reading “The Psychology of Success,” what are some myths associated with entrepreneurial leaders?

Examine the Leadership Scorecard from Kauffman’s eVenturing website. How would you rate yourself on the eleven items? How would others rate you on these items?

A founder or founding team often lacks the depth and breadth of skills necessary to bring a new venture to fruition. To fill important skills gaps, entrepreneurs often turn to an advisor or group of advisors, known as a “board of advisors,” who serve the venture in an advisory capacity or as experts in some function or activity carried out by the venture (Smeltzer, Van Hook, and Hutt, 1991). In addition to its guidance role, a board of advisors may enhance the credibility of the venture and connect the entrepreneur with important industry and business contacts.

Note that an advisory board is not the same as a board of directors, although directors certainly may serve in an advisory capacity. In a corporation, a board of directors has a legal obligation to oversee management as a representative of the shareholders of the company. The legal aspects of the board of directors are discussed further in the Law and Regulation module.

In what ways might your venture benefit from an advisory board?

What qualities should you look for when identifying potential advisors?

What methods can you employ to recruit your advisors and directors?

According to Bradley Feld in the article “Boards That Are Not Bored,” why is a “working board” the right type of board for a new venture? What is typical compensation for advisors and directors?

Your communication and networking skills will affect many aspects of your venture, from your ability to raise funds from investors to your capacity to build trust among your employees and advisors (Baron and Markman, 2003). Networking skills are thus critical to starting and growing a new venture.

According to the resources in this section, how, specifically, can networking impact your new venture?

Why is it important to develop a peer network? How can you effectively build and maintain a peer network?

What social skills are important to enhance your networking capabilities?

One of the greatest challenges for entrepreneurs is managing their work/life balance. Entrepreneurship has a number of features that make it particularly difficult to manage a balance. For example, entrepreneurs do not work according to a set schedule and thus often find it difficult to curtail their working hours. In addition, because the success of the new venture often depends solely on the entrepreneur, starting a company can be stressful, and this stress can seep into other aspects of life.

What does work/life balance mean to you?

What methods and best practices might you employ to help achieve work/life balance during your entrepreneurial career?