Social.com - what is the best way to develop a team, find a CEO?

I would like to build a great company around the domain name that I own - Social.com.

I'm an engineer with considerable programming experience with PHP, Perl, Javascript, etc., but lack the contacts necessary to develop a great team.

Can I assume that I should start by looking for a highly qualified CEO? What about other team members? How many should I be seeking and what skill sets might be critical in a Social Networking startup?

What is the best way to go about making these crucial contacts?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks,

BlueSkies

 

Do you think you're qualified to be the CEO?

If so, why not? The CEO position will no doubt demand a high salary.

 

you need to hire one person that is capable of building the company structure for you, thats what the guys at eBay did, once it got too big for them to deal with. They hired Meg Whitman to create the structure, alongside them of course, it was her knowledge and expertise that they utilised. The result is, well... we all know what the result is.

One big difference though is that eBay was already a couple of years old, already had a loyal customer base and was already growing exponentially. They could afford someone like Ms Whitman, what you need to ask yourself is, "Can I afford a Meg Whitman?" and "Do I really need her now?"

If you can answer yes to both then thats what you should be looking for, imho.

Laz

 

I'd start with reading some short books about enterprise development, especially entrepreneurship.

All or most these books will tell you that you do not need any CEO in a new company, as that would be overkill. The power of a new company is that it does not have a rigid structure. It's versatile, bendable and can easily adapt to circumstances. That will not be the case with a company that has grown a lot (like eBay).

Therefore, i suggest you to first focus on creating a solid business plan, maybe for yourself more on the technological aspect. Beside that, find yourself someone who can handle the more "marketing related stuff". Or do it all by yourself. Have a look at the demand in the market - don't overdo this aspect - and see what kind of revenue and cash flow you might expect in the near and mid-far future.

I don't know your financial background, but i think it'd be wise not to do a lot of overspending in your new business, before you actually have a cash flow running to support such expenses. And that's only just the second mistake a lot of starting enterprises make.

Last, I doubt that you can convince a good CEO with real experience to jump on a not-even-started business, while he can gain a multiple in another established business. This happens, of course, but then I think you'll need that solid business plan to convince him/her his/her investment.

Have more questions? PM me

 

Nice domain name. So, what area are you thinking of going into, social networking, or something else? If its related to social networking (I'm only using it as an example here) what are you going to do to make your company stand out from all the rest?

As Auriga said, I really can't see the point in even thinking about a CEO without a solid idea for where you want to go with things first. Then you can go looking for people with the necessary skills to help you achieve your initial objectives, and go from there. That domain name should help attract some good people!

 

That's a good suggestion. Can you recommend any books in particular?

Thanks,

BlueSkies

 

Think and Grow Rich - Naplean Hill
Also a great site : http://www.stevepavlina.com
Seven habit's of highly effective people.
what they don't teach you at harvard business school.
and many more just google.
Entrepreneurship is not that someone can teach you. It's being a visionary with burning passion to create a success.

 

I agree with richierich1m that entrepreneurship is not something a mere book will teach you. You will need to find the balance between offering something the market (or a segment of it) has use of, and doing whatever you are best at.

However, i do think that if you are thinking big, that you should at least take a bit time to read a few books on this theme. They will give you an idea of the possible hurdles on the road. You will learn that eBusiness is different to "normal" business in many aspects. However, at the same time it's quite similar.

I'd start with a good book with the basics about entrepreneurship. An easy read Harvard Business Review, which you can find @ Amazon for example.

This will not handle specifically about entrepreneurship in the internet world, but it will already give you an idea as to what are the challenges involved.

Next to that, i'd recommend taking some time to read some reviews of books on entrepreneurship. Then you can decide for yourself with what you would like to start, and what is in the line of your interests, and might be of use for your business.

Another thing you should try to do is to see yourself from a distance. What are you? Are you a techi-driven person, a marketing guy or can you do both. Are you good in numbers (finances) etc. Depending on your answers, you need to start finding people that can consult you, guide you, or even work for you (not necessarily full-time). To do so, you of course need to invest, and have the funds. That's where the business-plan comes into sight. But remember: banks do not look kindly upon internet-related businesses, so I advice you to start small, and look big.

Look at the short term: what do you want to create, set realistic goals, create a global planning & budget. And on the long term: what do I want to achieve (financial independence, a very nice system that everybody wants to use, recognition, ...)?


So basically, I'd advice you to not only think about the technical aspect of your endeavour, but also to look at the more practical and non-techi aspects.
(btw: being an engineer myself, i know it's sometimes a bit difficult not to focus too hard on the non-techi stuff. However, in my experience, in many cases the business itself does not care _how_ it's implemented, but _what_ is implemented - the outer shell. That is very important to keep in mind).

Good luck!

 

the domain name must be worth a fortune. have you owned it for a long time?

 

I have owned it since first registration in 1995.

I should have developed it a long time ago, but better late than never ...

BlueSkies

 

There are many ways to find qualified CEO's and with a domain name such as social.com I am sure you can find some people who would want to invest in it. Hiring a good CEO is going to cost you a minimum 100k a year plus benefits. But if you can find a good investor then that should not matter as long as the site has a way of atleast making a small amount.

 

why dont your work on some business planning and hire an virtual team to complete the tasks, once this is on the road... you can dream BIGGER. and hire some full time people. but first you need to initiate yourself, this is your dream you have to work out for that.

 

have you read the google story? i suggest you read the history of different companies, their mistakes and what made them successfull today. at least you can be guided by principles you acquired from this.

 

Looking for CEO's..!
I think u start looking for a experienced one [its not the term CEO matters] who had immense knowledge about the Web,builded a lot of popular websites etc..and is in the field for more than 5-10 years.
And let him do what do you want.But do remember one thing you want to pay him very high,even percentage of your revenues...

 

I thought I'd point people to the same topic that I posted on a different forum.

Some very useful information in both forums - thanks!

See:

http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=490586

 

I was toying around about having a site back then, but never got around to it. I wish I did, it would have been easier to get a good domain name. That name you have is probably worth some sort of fortune. I would just toss that name on some type of ebay site for several million and see if anyone bites. Couldn't hurt, it's cheap to try that.

But on another note, I'd say it's probably best if your the CEO from the start since you can directly control the people and shape the site and company to your liking, then step down after a bit and raise someone to your CEO position. That's what I would do.

 

For a quick look into what other entrepreneurs have gone through before, you might want to subscribe to the podcast Startup Studio. The interviews with successful entrepreneurs are short but often insightful. I've been downloading a bunch of old episodes lately myself.

 

Well first of all you got a great domain name.

Being into the VC industry myself i can tell you a few things you need to work on

1) Prepare a solid business plan. Ask yourself if you are one of the user would you buy into this idea?

2) your business plan must have a revenue model. This revenue model should also have alternative revenue source, if model 1 fails. Contigency planning. Again a good Exit plan for VC to diversify or exit 100% investment is a MUST.

3) Once you are 200% sure about your business plan, approach Venture capitalist or angel investors. Sign a electronic NDA with them if you dont want your ideas to be used anywhere else. Some guys are too risky to play around with

Identifying a CEO is a prolly one of the last things you need to do. If required, ask me for any help. I would be happy to share my knowledge with you.

Good luck!

 

I am not qualified to suggest whether or not you should hire a CEO, etc.

However, with respect to learning more about the business side of things, I would highly recommend reading Guy Kawasaki's blog (http://blog.guykawasaki.com) as well as watching this 40 minute speech he gives about entrepreneurship. It's truly inspiring!

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/06/the_art_of_the_.html <his speech (sorry, live links are enabled for me yet!)

Best of luck (and as you already know -- GREAT domain name!!)

 

another strategy that you can use is to sell the domain for a good sum, and use that money to promote and market a newly registered domain, and build the site around the newly registered domain.

Also it is better to invest some of your own money into your company so that when you take some VC funding, the VC does not end up owning 100% of your company.

Let me know if you need more help.