Overall Framework
Structure for all posts on company-building - start here!
All the range of topics we will cover are listed below:
Why this framework?
Most startup advice I read on the Internet is generic, not actionable and generally spoken from someone who has not “walked the talk” before. Most of the learnings I get is from my own experiences & mistakes, talking to fellow startup founders and operators and a few select VC resources or Y-Combinator startup library. I find combing through startup resources challenging without a framework in mind.
This framework is my approach to company-building and identifying the gaps in my own knowledge & experiences. For me, I am definitely more of the “business guy” and less of the “product guy”, so I hope to be more exposed to product management.
This framework is the guiding framework for any company but I hope it is useful for you to categorize knowledge accordingly.
1. Company Building
Company Building sounds generic. I define company building as the “rituals, processes and culture” that shape a company. I will cover these:
Building a startup organization structure (different roles)
Strategy & planning (annual, quarterly, weekly)
Company Wiki (company directory, goal-tracking)
Collaboration (meetings, feedback, alignment)
2. Talent Management
Managing people operations (HR) in a fast-growing startup is challenging. How do you find the right startup fit for your company, incentivize them accordingly when they could be potentially getting paid higher in other mature organizations?
Recruitment (how to hire, how to fire)
Startup compensation (ESOP, base compensation)
Growth & development (career ladders, building company feedback loops)
3. Product, Engineering & Data
What is the role of technology in a tech startup? Why are engineers and product managers so handsomely compensated? What is product management in a startup?
Finding product-market fit (0 to 1)
Product optimization (1 to 10)
Product management
Working with engineers
4. Corporate Finance
Does a startup need to have a CFO? When should you sacrifice growth for profitability - or can you ever balance both? What are investors looking for? What are some best practices to work with your lawyers?
Internal FP&A (P&L construction, budgeting, unit economics)
External financing (venture capital, venture debt, investor relations)
Managing Legal
5. Business Operations (BizOps)
Yet another ‘generic’ term. I consider BizOps as the glue that tie different teams together. In some companies, they work with data team to arm different teams with insights & data, they build SOPs and processes to scale a certain function.
Understanding core business metrics
Role & responsibilities
6. Sales, Marketing & Go-To-Market (GTM)
Is marketing only for brand awareness and lead generation? What are the challenges in growing both sales & marketing? As a founder, how do you do PR for your startup - should you ever work with an agency?
Building a sales team (team structure, incentives, challenges)
Marketing & growth (team structure, skills)
PR for startups
As always, feel free to reach out if you have any feedback!