Over the course of working with early-stage companies for the last five years, I've noticed something really intriguing, and puzzling: many -- if not most -- start-ups don't list their management teams on their websites. Why is that?
My first thought was that these companies don't want to expose the shallowness of their teams. My second thought, somewhat related to the first, was that each individual was reticent to expose their own lack of depth. My third was that these companies are run by people moonlighting on their day jobs and don't want to be found out and fired.
Leaving aside option 3, I think that these companies are making a grave error. Companies too afraid to show their faces are squandering the one asset that they possess. Start-ups by definition don't have long client lists nor any real brand value; essentially, the one asset that start-ups have is borne of the experience and expertise of the management team. If you hide that, what's left to prove your credibility?
Early-stage companies seeking clients and funding -- and what early-stage company isn't? -- need to put their management teams front and center. If the team is too weak to expose to the light of day, then Job-1 becomes strengthening the team with some aggressive recruiting. Put another way: if they're a weak team, individually or collectively, then nobody's going to invest or become a client anyway.
DC
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