"Right idea, wrong team."

This is a tough one.  If you were listening in to our partner meeting after presenting your startup, what would you do? Well, the first thing might be to think hard about why we were feeling that way.

Does your team have deep domain expertise in the business you are starting?  If not, then we worry a great deal about what you don't know you don't know. (Or to paraphrase Will Rogers, "It ain't what you know that hurts you.  It's what you know that ain't so.")  

If you don't have domain expertise, it is still possible you've come up with a killer business idea.  But you'll need to go land some senior folks from that industry to team up with you to help you avoid the obvious (to them) pitfalls.  Please come back when you do - or at a minimum when you realize you need to.

Now, what if you do have deep domain expertise in the space, but we still give you the "right idea, wrong team" brush-off?   Then the real message is, you have an A quality idea but are chasing it with a B quality team.  Did you round up just your buddies, or the best and brightest in the field? Did you make everyone a VP, or did you recognize that you'll need to hire folks above some of the founders to grow the business? If you are a founder coming out of the sales ranks, do you know what makes a stunning VP of Development?  If you are a killer engineering or scientific founder, do you know how to select and hire a VP of Sales?

One of the best things you can do if you have a great business idea is to leave the VP titles at the door and even leave holes in your team. If you don't have world-class talent in all areas, or aren't sure how to evaluate talent in functional areas you haven't managed, just admit that up front.  We'll be delighted to help you build that "right team."  It's far less effort than first having to convince everyone you started with the wrong one.

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