The Inner Workings of a Team at a Startup

Hi there,

I’m Morgan, the founder of Gemoo.

Around two or three years ago, while working at home on Zoom and Microsoft Teams, an idea struck me: I wanted to stop online meetings and screen record ideas I was discussing for more people to see. Then I discovered Loom, which was a breath of fresh air for me, as it is for everyone who has suffered from online meetings.

However, a few days later, I found myself constantly getting lost in large amounts of video files, which irritated me greatly. That’s when I decided to start my own business. I wanted to build a new team to help me improve my efficiency with videos, images, and even docs.

Then I began to build my products and my team. I’ve worked with traditional teams and built products, but a SaaS team? Never. Anyway, I began fearlessly, as I usually do.

Fortunately, after several attempts, I was able to form a strong team, and it turned out that each one of them is so amazing that I can’t wait to write a post to tell you how awesome my team is; if you’re interested, just keep reading.

All points are based on my personal experience; they may not be professional enough, but they are my genuine feelings.

🗼Structure of my team

I don’t want to use the word “hierarchy” to describe my team because it connotes strict status or authority. So I’d rather call it my team’s structure.

In terms of my role on the team, I would describe myself as a mentor to provide advice when my team members are stressed, a rope buckle to keep everyone together and everything in order, and an advisor to offer suggestions or resources that I have learned over the last decade.

Currently, I Have 4 Main Teams:

A dev team, is the core of my product. I’ll be spending a lot of time communicating technology with those guys, which is also a good way to stay up to date on the latest coding trends, especially AI. (Spoiler alert: there may be a race to integrate AI with Gemoo, which is definitely where we’re going.)

A product team, or product architects as I call them, who come up with amazing ideas to shape Gemoo. My previous colleague is one of three people on the product team. They can decide what the product will be mostly.

A marketing team, the engine of my team, who spot market trends, works hard to get Gemoo in front of more people. They are so professional and creative, always coming up with all sorts of amazing ideas.

A design team, and the artists of my team. As you can see on my website, the pictures and details are so gorgeous. We’ve received numerous compliments from users who love our website as a result of their aesthetics.

Every team has one experienced leader, along with 3-4 team members assisting them. Relatively, we’re a big startup team.

👀How Did I Find My Teammates

There is a huge pool of aspiring individuals available. Selecting a suitable candidate that fits the job well enough is a particularly tricky task. It is one of the biggest challenges facing startup businesses in this digital age. When hiring a suitable candidate, organizations must remember one golden rule: Birds of a feather flock together.

For me, knowing how to attract people from your current network and get more people from their network is a must-have skill for any startup.

During my last ten years working in the tech industry, I’ve met some amazing people who are professional and self-motivated, and I’ve built a nice connection with them, so when I decided to start Gemoo, they were overjoyed and wanted to join me right away, for which I would be eternally grateful.

I’ve made the decision about hiring the leader for every team, then giving them total rights to choose who they want to work with. It helps a lot to strengthen the team bond, and the one from their picks can totally catch up with the working pace of startups.

Again, finding the right team members means finding birds of a feather that flock together.

☕How We Work Together

Being a startup team is difficult; I’m sure most startups feel the same way. Loads of unable work, too much pressure, diverse opinions from many sides, and so on, even the smallest detail can lead to the failure of a startup team.

So, we put in a lot of effort to work together in a better environment, and I’d like to share these tips with you.

🚩Set a Clear and Elevating Goal

Goal-setting provides both long-term vision and short-term motivation. It helps you focus your knowledge acquisition and organize your time and resources so that you can make the most of your life.

Similarly, when working in a team, there must be a clear goal for all members to stay on track.

Every morning, we will hold a quick stand-up meeting for about 15 minutes to ensure that we all have the same goal for the day. It really helps us stay organized and focused on a single goal.

🧠Share Thoughts From the Very First Start

Members of the start-up team typically come from a variety of backgrounds and are all experts in their fields. As a result, if someone in the product department does not fully understand someone in the marketing department’s idea, there will be a communication gap, which can lead to misunderstandings and slow down the process.

Since the day we were founded, our team has been exchanging ideas. Our team’s marketers can learn about products in their spare time, and the product team can share their insights with designers and vice versa. We would communicate with others, even those from different departments, and share the latest technology or news. That definitely aids in communication, at least for us.

🌟Let Ideas Spark

Everyone on the team should participate as much as possible, boldly present hypotheses, encourage everyone to present their own opinions and ideas, and incorporate every interesting idea into the “idea bank.”

That is why we have an online brainstorming room, and if there is a task, we will first spend some time brainstorming.

The universe is incredible because it is made up of all shining stars; what we desire is the same as what the universe desires. Because we want everyone’s ideas to spark, soliciting ideas from everyone is an important part of our daily work.

However, not every idea needs to be implemented. A thorough understanding of the core indicators and the growth formula is required to avoid harvesting a plethora of “pie-in-the-sky” ideas that cannot be implemented.

👩‍🌾Be Genuine And Inclusive

Being genuine and inclusive is a life rule that I instill in my entire team.

In this environment, everyone on our team has a voice and a sense of belonging. A collaborative environment also allows team members to leverage their individual strengths and rely on one another for support.

Furthermore, the leader of each team will support and care for their members’ well-being and growth, as well as provide resources in all fields for them to improve.

I always feel fortunate to have all of my teammates because they share a common trait, which is a growth mindset, a willingness to fail, and the courage to try again. Practice does not produce true knowledge, but it can summarize feedback from one experiment to the next and constantly find and solve problems. Again, I am extremely proud of my teammates.

If you’d like to learn more about my team, we’d be delighted to share; simply connect with me on Twitter (MorganKung7).

I'm looking forward to hearing your thought.