Jan Gunash

“Do good and work hard.”

It’s a simple principle, but one that quietly shapes how I think about teams, especially the kind you build from the ground up.

I’ve written a little about choosing a co-founder. This is about something a bit broader: the traits I look for in a founding team. The group of early believers who aren’t just there for a paycheque but they’re there to build.

Complementary Skills That Drive Progress

The first layer is practical. What can this team actually do? At a minimum, a strong founding team brings a mix of technical and business acumen.

You don’t need to cover everything on day one, but you do need to fill the gaps that matter most. That might mean:

• Someone who can build (code, design, engineer)
  
• Someone who can sell (customers, investors, stakeholders)
  
• Someone who can navigate systems (grants, procurement, partnerships)
  

Great teams map their skills to momentum. Not titles.

Trust and Psychological Safety

This is harder to measure, but more important than anything else.

If you’ve worked together before, that’s a gift. It means trust isn’t being built from scratch. But even if you haven’t, you can still create a space where trust grows quickly through direct conversations, low ego, and shared wins.

A few signs you’re on the right path:

• Problems get solved quickly because people talk straight.
  
• No one clings to titles. Roles are fluid and based on strengths.
  
• Respect is earned daily and given freely.
  

It’s not about agreeing all the time. It’s about disagreeing without dysfunction.

Bias to Action

Perfect is the enemy of shipped.
A good founding team moves fast – not recklessly, but without paralysis.

You align on what “good enough” looks like. You build lean. You test ideas without waiting for permission.

This kind of team doesn’t ask, “Whose job is this?”
They ask, “What’s blocking us, and how do we move?”

The motto is simple:
If you can do it, do it. If you can’t, ask for help.

Mission Alignment and Mutual Sacrifice

Startups are built on belief. And belief is hard to fake.

A good founding team shares more than a to-do list, they share a reason. They’re not just working with you, they’re building for the same future. They’ll take on risk, make personal sacrifices, and hold each other up in quiet, invisible ways.

Startup Experience vs. Corporate Experience

I’ve seen this mistake more than once: hiring for pedigree instead of fit.

Someone has a great CV. They’ve led teams at a global firm, managed huge budgets, worked across functions. On paper, they’re a 10. In practice, they struggle. Why? Because startups and corporates run on completely different operating systems.

In a startup, there’s no playbook. No defined lanes. No buffer. No clear order or workflow, no SOPs, no admin support.

You have to be scrappy, fast, and comfortable with uncertainty. Titles mean nothing. Output means everything.

Corporate experience often teaches process, scale, and stakeholder management. That’s valuable but not always relevant when you’re still validating a product, scrambling for runway, or rewriting your go-to-market for the third time in a month.

The startup mindset is different:

• You ship without perfect data.
  
• You wear every hat until one fits.
  
• You build before you’re ready.

That doesn’t mean people from corporate can’t thrive. Many do. But only if they’re willing to unlearn before they try to lead. The best ones don’t bring bureaucracy – they bring humility, speed, and a bias toward doing.

In the early days, bet on experience that looks messy:
People who’ve built in the dirt, not just polished in the boardroom.

Emotional Maturity and Resilience

Every early-stage team will get punched in the face. What happens next is what matters.

Has your team ever stuck with something hard before? Do they have a track record of showing up when it gets uncomfortable? Have they failed and gotten back up?

You want people who:

• Know what they’re good at and what they’re not.
  
• Can give and receive feedback without spiraling.
  
• Perform under pressure, but don’t rely on chaos to thrive.

Because it won’t always be fun. And it definitely won’t always be fair. But it will be meaningful if you build it with the right people.