THE TEAM-DIFFERENCES ADVANTAGE
Entrepreneurs have to be amazing people, especially the successful ones. Starting and running your own business is not for the faint of heart. The entrepreneur must be passionate, focused, resourceful, efficient, persuasive, energetic, and wise. It doesn’t hurt to have lots of cash or many other investors. Even with all those advantages, the entrepreneur must have the self-awareness to pick smart partners. Team diversity is very important to success. Distinct differences among the team can make or break the business.
Alex Blumberg left his long-term career gig with National Public Radio to start his own business. Reflecting on his early team formation, he articulates an important and effective diversity truth (Hank Gilman. “Lessons of a Serial Entrepreneur.” Money . September 2015, pp. 84–87):
“ It quickly became clear I needed help on the business side. I didn’t know what I was talking about on a profound level. . . . That’s when I met my co-founder, Matthew Lieber. . . . Matt sees things I don’t see and understands things I don’t understand. I don’t think in terms of what things will cost or make money. I think in terms of stories and how to tell them. It wasn’t until I teamed up with Matt that we actually started attracting investors. ” (p. 86)
Diversity attracts investors. When investors see that the team is covering all bases, confidence grows. Investors can become jittery when the pitchperson is a team of one.
On the other hand, when a team with diverse strengths and a collaborative cooperation to spot each other’s blind spots comes on the scene, investors can see the collective potential. Diversity wins, and that means the business wins.
