Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

A champion.  A CEO.  A fearless leader who has the experience and ...

You get the idea.

I have been working on a business plan for a venture that has the potential to have world-wide, social impacts.  Really.

I am looking to form a team, starting with a Champion to lead it.  The estimated start-up costs are in the tens of millions, so this isn`t a small project.

I would appreciate some feedback on how to find or build a team from nothing.

Thanks.

 

 

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ONSITE123
www.ONSITE123.net

I probobly should have been a little more concise.  I am wondering how somebody finds a candidate for the role of CEO. 

To me, a CEO is the company champion, the ambassador so to speak.  The person who represents the company to the public and the person who represents the company to the stakeholders.

I`ve spent the majority of my career in the IT field and while I do have a wide range of other skills that are valuable to the company, I believe that a professional, hand-picked person of experience has a much greater likelyhood of seeing the project to fruition.

How do you approach someone you don`t know, is probobly hard to get in touch with in the first place and who may wish compensation for their time that is beyond a small or non-existant budget?

Thanks.

BTW, ONSITE123 is not the project I am speaking of.

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ONSITE123
www.ONSITE123.net

First you`d want to have a salary range, and job description for potential CEO candidates. A CEO usually is in their 40s or older, having run large corporations before. You wouldn`t ordinarily search for a CEO for a startup company.

Why aren`t you expecting to be the person who`s the champion for this new company? That would be the first question I think anyone would ask. :-)

Craig,

Thanks for the reply.  I feel that while I am the visionary and I DO have many of the skills required to run a business (and I DO run a business), I believe that this project is of a magnitude that dictates I just plain need the help and expertise right from the get-go.

I`m looking at trying to plan and finance a project that needs to launch in 5 locations in different cities simultaneously, and to add more locations in the U.S. and Internationally each year.  There also needs to be cooperation with each local city`s council on a number of fronts and partnerships to be formed for short and long-term.

I have crunched numbers based on statistics for one location and while I am pretty good at plugging numbers, I am certainly not a financial guru, nor do I have a firm understanding of investments, shareholding and all that jazz.  What I did notice was that while I plugged in numbers that were `true`, I could plug them in any way I wanted to, or compare them favorably instead of from a different angle... it just lead me to the realization that I don`t know what formulae to use, I would have to go learn it all, and that`s just one aspect of the plan.

What about investors?  They want an escape plan, er, exit strategy and they expect, of course, to make money.  But how much?  When do they want it?  What`s normal for this stuff?  And WHY should I do any of this the normal way anyways?  This project isn`t the average bear.  It`s never been done, and the few that have seen the plan have all given me the `wow` and the wide eyes when realization suddenly sinks in.  Then they say, `this is really cool, lemme know when it`s built...`

It`s exciting enough that a local architect has donated some of his valuable time to designing a floorplan which just raises the level of excitement.  But the question is, where do I go from here? or what do I do now?

I need commercial real-estate help, just trying to find a space in one city has been almost impossible and help costs $150/hr., of course talking to me down their noses is no extra charge.  :)  I really hate being reminded that I`m still small potatoes.

I need a Champion.  I guy (or gal) who`s done this kind of business building before. One who has the formulae.

Thanks.

 

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ONSITE123
www.ONSITE123.net

It seems to me you need to find investors before you do anything else, including finding a CEO.

To back up what Craig said, why not you?  You come across with a lot of passion.  Not all CEOs are geniuses in all aspects of business, like your example of finances.  One basic concept behind building a company is to get the right people in the right positions, meaning you would find a "champion" CFO to work with you.

There`s nothing wrong with not wanting to be the CEO, but as it is your company, the understanding of why should be clear.  Does your business plan spell this out?  And it shouldn`t be that you lack skills (finance, real estate, etc.), it should be that your current skills are better used somewhere else.

I should have been doing the forum thing long ago... I`ve been working on this alone for so long, I think I got stuck in the mire.  A fresh perspective helps alot, thanks.

Now, off to find that winning team... (yes, it`s a cheesy cliche)

Thanks.

Norm




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ONSITE123
www.ONSITE123.net

If I`ve learned anything on SuN, having it reinforced, it`s that ideas are a dime a dozen (or a gross!).

Everyone has "the hottest idea in the world." Everyone is going to launch a product "totally unheard of by mankind." Nobody in the real world believes a word of it.

BrandAlchemy has been strong on the phrase "proof of concept," and I really like that phrase. It means that "I don`t care what you think or feel about your product if it doesn`t yet exist in some form." I want to see some sort of proof that this thing is going to work.

As a previously professional musician I heard all kinds of promises, promotions, claims, and so on. But it all came down to "show me what you can do." Not only do people mistake their level of skill, in many instances they simply grew up with a faulty set of standards.

So the idea that`s really going to set the world on fire may only be designed to set Podunk, Idaho on fire, if the person with that idea has never been more than 50 miles away from home. See?

You`ve got a lot of passion, and you make a lot of claims. But to hire a CEO, put together a team, or attract an investor, you`re going to need something more than words. Actions usually work a bit better. :-)

"If I`ve learned anything on SuN, having it reinforced, it`s that ideas are a dime a dozen (or a gross!).

Everyone has "the hottest idea in the world." Everyone is going to launch a product "totally unheard of by mankind." Nobody in the real world believes a word of it."

It`s funny you say that, I was logging in to post that basically I knew that I was talking talk, and not necessarily walking the walk.  To be honest, I`ve never walked the walk when it comes to forming a business bigger than myself.

It`s difficult to speak about all this while keeping a lid on the details, after all, I don`t want someone else to scoop my basic plan and build it first, but wrong.

"BrandAlchemy has been strong on the phrase "proof of concept," and I really like that phrase. It means that "I don`t care what you think or feel about your product if it doesn`t yet exist in some form." I want to see some sort of proof that this thing is going to work."

I agree to everything above.  I honestly don`t think that I am ALL THAT, nor do I have self-confidence issues. I understand that investors and the rest of the world are working from their own perspectives, and it doesn`t hurt my feelings (anymore) that they don`t really care about me or how cool this thing is.  It`s about money and, proof that it`ll pay off. 

While I can`t share details here, I can say that there is at least some proof in concept in that we are utilizing already proven business models and combining them in a new way. 

"As a previously professional musician I heard all kinds of promises, promotions, claims, and so on. But it all came down to "show me what you can do." Not only do people mistake their level of skill, in many instances they simply grew up with a faulty set of standards."

"So the idea that`s really going to set the world on fire may only be designed to set Podunk, Idaho on fire, if the person with that idea has never been more than 50 miles away from home. See?"

"You`ve got a lot of passion, and you make a lot of claims. But to hire a CEO, put together a team, or attract an investor, you`re going to need something more than words. Actions usually work a bit better. :-)"

Again, I agree with you.  I visited SCORE some months ago to have my initial BP reviewed by someone I hoped could help me move to the next step, getting out of BPing and actually making something happen.  I was told to find a location and a CEO.  Neither of which I am in any position to aquire.  Maybe I need to visit a different acronym?

And you said it, "You`ve got a lot of passion, and you make a lot of claims. But to hire a CEO, put together a team, or attract an investor, you`re going to need something more than words. Actions usually work a bit better. :-)"

Now we`re talking!  What are the actions?  I have a BP developed as far as I can get it without the experts to finish it off.  What about the accountant to put in the right interest rates and the lawyer to put in that contractual thing that keeps me out of prison, that kind of stuff.  The reason I don`t feel like a CEO is exactly this, I`m not sure where to steer the ship anymore. I need the experts to take what I have and either fix it, or confirm I did it right myself. 

How can I sit down in front of an investor if I don`t know what he wants other than a payoff?  There HAS to be common mistakes that many new businesses face in regards to financing and I don`t want to make those mistakes in front of investors.  That means bringing in a BP that is real.  Really real.  A professionally completed BP that has all the answers the investor is looking for.

I agree that actions are better than words, I`m just not sure what my next action is.

Thanks,

Norm

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ONSITE123
www.ONSITE123.net

Hi Norm,
I think I`m getting a bit of a sense of what it is you`re looking for. See if you agree.

You have an idea that seems like it would be brilliant. You`re familiar with how to set up that idea to explain it to people (a business plan). Beyond that, you`re not sure what to do next?

So you`re looking for someone with a strong business background who can proof your plan, examine it for practical application, then carry it forward. Part of that carrying forward would be to pull together the people and resources to put the plan into action. Is that pretty much the summary?

Yes.  That would sum it all up.  Go ahead, hit me with your reality check. .

Norm

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ONSITE123
www.ONSITE123.net