8069
REV: JULY 17, 2015
TEACHING NOTE
ATTRACTING TALENT AND BUILDING
ECOSYSTEMS
I. Overview
The core of entrepreneurship lies in the pursuit of opportunity. By definition, the vision for a new venture
is unconstrained by its existing resources and capabilities, and entrepreneurs have the freedom to define
their view of opportunity in the manner they believe will be most likely to result in success. But that same
lack of resources creates the classic startup challenge that the new venture must overcome. Thus, much of
the activity of a startup is devoted to bridging these resource gaps.
The challenge of assembling financial resources is discussed in Core Reading: Financing Entrepreneurial
Ventures (HBP No. 8072). The other two types of resources that new ventures depend on are (1) human
resources in the form of co-founders, employees, and advisers, and (2) the set of customers, suppliers,
and partners that forms the ecosystem in which the venture operates. These two types of resources are
the subject of this reading, which has several essential sections. These sections are described in the
following:
Attracting Talent
Building the Founding Team
Key issues include:
• Should an entrepreneur be a solo founder or work with one or more co-founders?
• What types of skills, capabilities, and experience are required on the team?
, • How do you find those team members?
• How should you structure the relationships, roles, and rewards among the team members?
Attracting Key Employees
Key issues include:
• What activities will the venture engage in and what expertise will be required to execute these
activities?
• What roles will exist and who should fill them?
• What rewards will attract these people?
• What kind of culture should be developed?
Establishing the Boards of Directors and Advisers
• The role of a board of advisers and how it differs from the role of the board of directors.
• The benefits each type of board can bring.
• How to attract individuals to each type of board.
• Other professionals that the startup may engage include:
o Accountants
o Lawyers
o Consultants
Building Ecosystems
An ecosystem is a web of internal employees, activities, and advisers as well as external partners,
customers, suppliers, and distribution channels.
Open innovation
In this model, an important innovation function is performed outside the formal boundaries of the
startup itself via hackathons, competitions, and/or partnerships.
Incubators
Incubators provide professional resources, shared services, and often space to a group of startups.
Accelerators
Accelerators add to the services provided by an incubator and also include some form of early-stage
funding, usually in return for equity ownership.
Advice from a Serial Entrepreneur
Dan Bricklin, inventor of VisiCalc, offers advice on the startup process.
Entrepreneurial Negotiations
• The types of negotiations entrepreneurs typically engage in (zero-sum or distributive
negotiations, and non-zero-sum or multiple-gain negotiations).
• The techniques that can be used to improve the outcome of these negotiations.
8069 | Teaching Note: ATTRACTING TALENT AND BUILDING ECOSYSTEMS 2
, Legal Forms of Organization in the United States and Other Countries
Describes the various legal forms of organization open to new ventures, and the advantages and
disadvantages of each:
• Sole proprietorship
• Partnerships, both general and limited
• Corporations
• S corporations
• LLCs
II. Syllabus Placement
In a first-year MBA course focused on entrepreneurial management or new ventures, this reading is
relevant to the module of the course on acquiring resources. In some courses, a financial resources
module would exist separately from a human resources module. The reading was developed for use in a
first-year, required course on entrepreneurship, but it can also be used in entrepreneurship electives,
especially those that deal with technology-based entrepreneurship. The reading has also been used
successfully in both undergraduate and executive programs.
With extensive use of cases and additional readings, this reading can also form the basis of a 28-
session course explicitly devoted to attracting talent and building ecosystems in early-stage ventures.
Suggested cases and additional readings are provided in the Related Materials section of this teaching
note.
With respect to Executive Education audiences, this material—along with suggested additional
readings and cases—can form the basis for six-session modules on building high-performance teams and
leading disruptive innovation. See the details in the Related Materials section of this teaching note.
The sample syllabi provided in the Related Materials section of this teaching note offer more details
on how the material can be divided and paired with cases to suit modules of various lengths and foci.
III. Level
The target audience is undergraduates, MBAs, or Master’s students considering an entrepreneurial
career. The material has also been used successfully in a variety of executive programs for entrepreneurs
and business owners who are interested in building successful and sustainable businesses, and for
executives in established companies interested in launching new ventures. Refer to the Related Materials
section for sample syllabi and a list of cases and readings that can be used to deepen insights on the topics
listed there. Most of the material in the reading should be reasonably accessible to students in the target
audiences described above.
IV. Discussion Points/Questions
This section provides discussion questions that can form the basis for assignments prior to class or for
teaching the material during an in-class interactive discussion. Of course, if a case accompanies the
reading, then the primary assignment should revolve around that case, and the respective teaching notes
can provide guidance on that point. The questions provided in the following subsections can signal the
issues in the case that are most relevant to the reading; they may be used when the objective is to focus
discussion on the reading.
8069 | Teaching Note: ATTRACTING TALENT AND BUILDING ECOSYSTEMS 3
REV: JULY 17, 2015
TEACHING NOTE
ATTRACTING TALENT AND BUILDING
ECOSYSTEMS
I. Overview
The core of entrepreneurship lies in the pursuit of opportunity. By definition, the vision for a new venture
is unconstrained by its existing resources and capabilities, and entrepreneurs have the freedom to define
their view of opportunity in the manner they believe will be most likely to result in success. But that same
lack of resources creates the classic startup challenge that the new venture must overcome. Thus, much of
the activity of a startup is devoted to bridging these resource gaps.
The challenge of assembling financial resources is discussed in Core Reading: Financing Entrepreneurial
Ventures (HBP No. 8072). The other two types of resources that new ventures depend on are (1) human
resources in the form of co-founders, employees, and advisers, and (2) the set of customers, suppliers,
and partners that forms the ecosystem in which the venture operates. These two types of resources are
the subject of this reading, which has several essential sections. These sections are described in the
following:
Attracting Talent
Building the Founding Team
Key issues include:
• Should an entrepreneur be a solo founder or work with one or more co-founders?
• What types of skills, capabilities, and experience are required on the team?
, • How do you find those team members?
• How should you structure the relationships, roles, and rewards among the team members?
Attracting Key Employees
Key issues include:
• What activities will the venture engage in and what expertise will be required to execute these
activities?
• What roles will exist and who should fill them?
• What rewards will attract these people?
• What kind of culture should be developed?
Establishing the Boards of Directors and Advisers
• The role of a board of advisers and how it differs from the role of the board of directors.
• The benefits each type of board can bring.
• How to attract individuals to each type of board.
• Other professionals that the startup may engage include:
o Accountants
o Lawyers
o Consultants
Building Ecosystems
An ecosystem is a web of internal employees, activities, and advisers as well as external partners,
customers, suppliers, and distribution channels.
Open innovation
In this model, an important innovation function is performed outside the formal boundaries of the
startup itself via hackathons, competitions, and/or partnerships.
Incubators
Incubators provide professional resources, shared services, and often space to a group of startups.
Accelerators
Accelerators add to the services provided by an incubator and also include some form of early-stage
funding, usually in return for equity ownership.
Advice from a Serial Entrepreneur
Dan Bricklin, inventor of VisiCalc, offers advice on the startup process.
Entrepreneurial Negotiations
• The types of negotiations entrepreneurs typically engage in (zero-sum or distributive
negotiations, and non-zero-sum or multiple-gain negotiations).
• The techniques that can be used to improve the outcome of these negotiations.
8069 | Teaching Note: ATTRACTING TALENT AND BUILDING ECOSYSTEMS 2
, Legal Forms of Organization in the United States and Other Countries
Describes the various legal forms of organization open to new ventures, and the advantages and
disadvantages of each:
• Sole proprietorship
• Partnerships, both general and limited
• Corporations
• S corporations
• LLCs
II. Syllabus Placement
In a first-year MBA course focused on entrepreneurial management or new ventures, this reading is
relevant to the module of the course on acquiring resources. In some courses, a financial resources
module would exist separately from a human resources module. The reading was developed for use in a
first-year, required course on entrepreneurship, but it can also be used in entrepreneurship electives,
especially those that deal with technology-based entrepreneurship. The reading has also been used
successfully in both undergraduate and executive programs.
With extensive use of cases and additional readings, this reading can also form the basis of a 28-
session course explicitly devoted to attracting talent and building ecosystems in early-stage ventures.
Suggested cases and additional readings are provided in the Related Materials section of this teaching
note.
With respect to Executive Education audiences, this material—along with suggested additional
readings and cases—can form the basis for six-session modules on building high-performance teams and
leading disruptive innovation. See the details in the Related Materials section of this teaching note.
The sample syllabi provided in the Related Materials section of this teaching note offer more details
on how the material can be divided and paired with cases to suit modules of various lengths and foci.
III. Level
The target audience is undergraduates, MBAs, or Master’s students considering an entrepreneurial
career. The material has also been used successfully in a variety of executive programs for entrepreneurs
and business owners who are interested in building successful and sustainable businesses, and for
executives in established companies interested in launching new ventures. Refer to the Related Materials
section for sample syllabi and a list of cases and readings that can be used to deepen insights on the topics
listed there. Most of the material in the reading should be reasonably accessible to students in the target
audiences described above.
IV. Discussion Points/Questions
This section provides discussion questions that can form the basis for assignments prior to class or for
teaching the material during an in-class interactive discussion. Of course, if a case accompanies the
reading, then the primary assignment should revolve around that case, and the respective teaching notes
can provide guidance on that point. The questions provided in the following subsections can signal the
issues in the case that are most relevant to the reading; they may be used when the objective is to focus
discussion on the reading.
8069 | Teaching Note: ATTRACTING TALENT AND BUILDING ECOSYSTEMS 3
