I always hated HR courses in my studies, never understanding how drooling dogs and bells related to real life and management in particular.
Throughout my career, I met many entrepreneurs who weren’t the smartest people in the room, and it always amazed me to see how they managed to build successful companies.
When I started companies (and another, and several more), and began advising others, I understood why:
The best entrepreneurs aren’t necessarily the smartest people in the room – they’re smart enough to recruit people smarter than themselves.
There’s a famous saying in entrepreneurship: ‘A people recruit A people, B’s recruit C’s and D’s.’
Why? Because excellent people feel secure enough to hire the best, while others fear being overshadowed.
This reminds me of a startup founder I met a few years ago. He was a talented software engineer, but when it came time to hire a CTO, he chose someone better at programming than himself. Many questioned this decision – why choose someone who surpasses you in your supposed area of strength? But his answer was simple: “I want the company to succeed, not for me to look the smartest.”
Successful entrepreneurs understood that while they’re responsible for the venture’s success, they don’t need to solve every problem themselves, and knew how to recruit people with complementary talents – product people knew to hire good managers, non-technical founders knew to bring in strong CTOs, etc. Mark Zuckerberg brought in Sheryl Sandberg, Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak.
Ventures fail when founders feel they must be involved in every process, often becoming bottlenecks and stalling processes that could move much faster without their involvement and approval at every step.
Founders who insist on approving every minor decision, from website button colors to every company email, actually harm the company. It works initially, but once the company starts growing, it becomes impossible and begins to hurt growth rate.
One interesting thing I discovered is that the most successful entrepreneurs are those who know how to say “I don’t know.” It sounds simple, but it’s one of the hardest things for founders. They feel they need to be experts in every field, knowing every small detail about their company. But the truth is, as the company grows, that’s simply impossible.
How do I identify such a successful entrepreneur? They’ll surround themselves with advisors, ask questions as if they understand nothing about the field, won’t shy away from tough questions, and try to think about “why not” instead of just “why” – meaning they’ll prepare action plans for potential failures. In other words, while we all have confidence we’ll handle problems when they arise, these people already have backup plans.
They know how to build a strong team and give them space to operate. They understand their role is to set the general direction, ensure everyone understands the vision, and then… step aside and let the talented people they’ve hired do their jobs.
Building a successful startup isn’t about being a lone genius. It’s about creating an environment where brilliant minds can collaborate, challenge your assumptions, and push the company forward.
As a very analytical person, I always look for people more organized than me (product managers, or experience in project management, very structured thinking and attention to small details) or people with an eye for design, knowing these are areas where I’m less strong (and less passionate), so my team will always include one or two managers with these qualities.
Remember: Your job as founders isn’t to know all the answers. The job is to build a team of experts who know them, and to be humble enough to listen when they speak. The biggest companies weren’t built by lone visionaries – they were built by entrepreneurs who knew how to attract and empower exceptional talent.