How to Build the Perfect Founding Team

In this episode of Founders Weekly, Heini and Theis explore what makes a successful founding team, focusing on four crucial roles: the idea person, the deal maker, the builder, and the operator.

They introduce a new framework with an innovative scoring system to evaluate each team member's strengths and weaknesses, sharing their own scores and insights. Heini and Theis emphasize the importance of each role in driving the startup's success and delve into the dynamics of their own founding team. They also discuss the challenges of assembling a balanced team, the necessity of founder-market and founder-founder fit, and the vital role of chemistry and teamwork. Plus, get a sneak peek into the exciting plans for the next season of the podcast!

Here are the 4 roles used in the framework:

Idea Person, an idea person is a creative person, full of ideas and resourcefulness, who thinks outside the box and there are no limits to what we can and how fast we can do it. Sometimes seen as the visionary leader and this really is the stereotype of a crazy founder! 

Deal Maker, a Deal Maker can close a deal, this means fundraising, business deals, whatever deal needs to be done. The Deal Maker can sell, be a promoter, create excitement, tell a story and be a bit of a hustler.

Builder, a builder can build whatever we are building or make sure it is being built. This role is often seen as the technical co-founder in a traditional tech startup. Either they build themselves or lead whatever team is needed to build. The key here is the ability to release, actually get stuff out there.

Operator, an operator runs the business. Makes sure invoices are sent, bills are paid and everyone gets their salary on time. A startup is a business, you need someone to run that business or it will fall apart.


Host: Heini Zachariassen

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heini/

Co-Host: Theis Søndergaard

LinkedIn: https://dk.linkedin.com/in/theissondergaard


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Om Podcasten

Founders Weekly is the most important news in Tech and Startups curated in a fast-paced format for busy Startup Founders. We cover the news and have other founders' comments on the impact on the Startup ecosystem. Hosted by Vivino founder Heini Zachariassen with other founders as co-hosts and guests every week. Never miss a big story!