Entrepreneurship Reading: Attracting Talent and Building Ecosystems

Among the many challenges that entrepreneurs must face is assembling the resources necessary to build a successful business. Most entrepreneurs will go through an iterative process of building a team, raising capital, and developing an ecosystem. An entrepreneur's decisions are highly interdependent--for example, the ability to attract customers, partners, and team members may depend on the ability to attract financing, which depends on ecosystem connections and a high-quality team. This Reading addresses 2 of the 3 kinds of resources critical to early-stage ventures: people (attracting cofounders, key employees, and advisors) and a business network (building the ecosystem of customers, suppliers, partners, and evangelists needed to develop products and get them to market). The third resource category, the capital required to finance the launch of the venture, is discussed in detail in Entrepreneurship Reading: Financing New Ventures [HBP No. 8072]. Attracting Talent and Building Ecosystems first explores the talent a new venture needs, including cofounders, key employees, advisors, and board members. The Reading then discusses how entrepreneurs can assemble the ecosystem of customers, partners, and other stakeholders who help develop and launch entry products and services, attract early customers, and gain traction in the market. Finally, the entrepreneurial story of Dan Bricklin, the inventor of the electronic spreadsheet, serves as an example of the process. There is also a glossary of key terms, as well as suggestions for complimentary cases and further reading.

• Hiring and recruitment
• Entrepreneurial management
• Business plans
• Start-ups