Finding an operator
August 03, 2023
by a searcher from University of Maryland at College Park in Asheville, NC, USA
Does anyone know of the best way to go about finding an operator?
August 03, 2023
by a searcher from University of Maryland at College Park in Asheville, NC, USA
Does anyone know of the best way to go about finding an operator?
in Washington, D.C., DC, USA
Here's my approach towards finding the right operator. (providing this from context of Software Business).
What I look for: 👀
- I look for someone who has 7-10 years of experience
- Has done startup or entrepreneurship before - or has failed
- Is having growth mindset. By growth, wants to be hustle, wants to grow wants to take ownership and responsibility
- Comes from Product, Tech or Tech or Product background. Big NO for profiles that only come for either Product or Tech
- Good hands on with People, Process and Operations
Where to look for? 🚀
- Find your competitors and then find PMs or Leads at those firms
- Or Network with folks on SearchFunder, Twitter, ChiefOperators etc.
- Reach out to Venture Studio firms
- Reach out to Operating Partners who have programs where they run the show for you, with % Equity+Monthly Fee
from United States Naval Academy in San Diego, CA, USA
For my companies however we do NOT follow this practice which has worked out incredibly well. We have almost exclusively promoted within. There are a number of advantages to this:
- The employee already knows the company and culture so there is a faster learning curve for their role and less risk of it being a bad hire
- They are almost always less expensive
- Most importantly, it promotes a culture of being able to grow with the company and a reward system for high performance. Otherwise, employees see that there is no runway.
I’d highly recommend you look internally first. This isn’t always an option but there is usually someone you can at least put into a stretch position to see if they can rise to the occasion.