• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Unless people you’re working with support you, you are going to fail

Published: Sunday, 01 March 2009

Who are the guys that you are going to have pizza with when you successfully raise capital?

Who are the guys that are going to inspire you?

Who are the guys you’ll be willing to hang out with until 4am finishing off your business proposal?

Who are the guys that are going to push you to achieve at your best?

Who are the guys who are going to have you keep running when you feel like giving up?

One of the most important things you’ll have to do is choose your team. Successful founding teams usually have joint working experience before the company is started, and have complementary skills that are suitable to the needs of the business.

If you’re an engineer, it’s important to have a marketer; if you’re starting a technical company, make sure you have someone technical on board; if you know nothing about finances, it’s essential you have a good money-man. Whatever your industry and whatever your area of expertise, it’s important to mix with and be able to work with different types of people.

As well as having people on board who complement your skill set, make sure you have people on board who are doing what they love. Passionate people who see personal growth, who want to make a difference in the area and who are inspired beyond wanting to nicen up their resume and schmooze their way up the ladder are the best to have around.

The nature of the technology and your market determine to a large extent the path your business will take and the people you will work with a long the way. However, make the path as fun as possible by having people on board who are doing what they love, who share your company’s goals and who you’re willing to work with until 4am, because it’s no fun taking the ride alone!

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Tech Schools Ambassador

    I've been named the ambassador for a Victorian Government education initiative called Tech Schools! Tech Schools are shared learning centres...

  • Who says yes?

    I think it's important to have one person that says the final 'yes' to all the decisions in a start-up. That one person should be the visionary...

  • Robot repairs

    Robot troubleshooting on the fly in Sydney.

  • Three months

    In the first three months, Robogals Melbourne was formed (July ~ September 2008). In the next three, I got to know London and Europe (October 2008 ~...

  • Aubot Instagram

    Aubot has created an instagram page with fun photos of Teleport!  Check them out here!...

  • The way things go

    You set up a meeting time, ten people email back and say they’re keen, passionate and that they’ll be there.  One person shows up.   So what’s there to...

  • Cool enough

    I find that many people my age are quite lost.  They don't know what to do with their lives, they don't know what their dream job is, they don't know...

  • Perfection is an oasis

    Perfection is unattainable.  You're never going to get something that's perfect, done.  Not with your budget.  Not with your timeframe.  Not so that you...

  • Impressed

    People are impressed by what they can't do. Hence I'm impressed by discipline.  Someone who can do the same action every day.  Such as swim, run, get...

  • Being a great customer

    I was in a hairdressers in Melbourne. I was 18. it was the first time I’d ever been to a hairdressers to get my hair cut in my life! It was at a...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top