In my recent interview with new University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Executive Director Adam Keune he discussed the importance of mentors to founders who are navigating the challenges of starting their companies, including with talent. Here’s some of what he shared.
“I think it’s because somebody could be great in one role but terrible in another, and it has nothing to do with them — it has everything to do with the business. The businesses are just so different, and again, that landscape changes so quickly, so finding [a mentor] who’s not only succeeded, but can understand the business you’re in and making sure that you’re really spending a lot of time hiring. I’ve mentored over 1,000 startups at this point, and that’s one of the things I see all the time is people want to hire quickly and just move on from it. I always try and emphasize like, you got to take a lot of time on this because it’s so critical to get it right. Hiring people is so hard and it seems like, ‘Oh, we’ll hire somebody and it’s one less thing I have to worry about.’ It’s just not the case, because no matter how good they are, you still have to guide them and make sure that they’re aligned to your vision and those type of things. So, I think it’s just really tough to navigate, and then everybody’s gonna run into it where you’re not going to agree with an individual or an employee and at some point, you’re going to have to let people go. Every business owner, entrepreneur will tell you that, and that’s always just one of the worst things ever. That’s why I say take a lot of time because letting people go is awful. So really finding that talent, making sure it meshes well and it’s not even just are they the best candidate? Do they mesh with this team? Do they get this market?” Keune said.
— Sarah Diehn, editor