The Only 5 People You Need in Your Company

small teams with the right people they don't just compete with giants they take them down Facebook Microsoft Airbnb they all started with five people or less before they expanded at the time they weren't industry Giants they were nobody's going up against goliaths like Myspace IBM the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons these companies already had loyalty experience and market share and yet which ones do you recognize first now you also have the ability to create massive or small if you like disruptions but you can't do it alone okay these successful companies may have started with just

five people or less but they had the right people if you're David and you're going into battle you don't just pick up any five people you choose Warriors who you can take to the top so who are they who are the only five people you need in your company let's break it all down welcome to alux the place where future billionaires come to get inspired first up the analyst now ideally that's you you have to be the first piece of the puzzle your job is to see the game before it's even played it's up to

you to spot patterns build the engine and get the ball rolling the analyst as the name implies can read and understand numbers nobody else can do this job but you because you have access to all the data and you need to build a Runway long enough to take flight before you fall off the cliff and this is where most Founders fail they love their product but they don't know their business they don't track how much it costs to gain one new customer they don't know which numbers actually matter and without that knowledge they can't see

the cracks that are forming until it's too late we work valued at $47 billion before 20 19 it was going to be the next big thing they were going to lead the charge for the future of work but then investors took a closer look at the numbers and their valuation collapsed by 90% their model wasn't sustainable their spending was Reckless and their leadership ignored every warning sign that's what happens when a company lacks a real analyst anyone can be the next cautionary tale if they don't understand these three core things in inside and out revenue

and costs how much money is coming in and how much is going out efficiency what's working what's broken where is the bottleneck and scalability if the business grows can I handle it if you've ever watched Shark Tank or Dragon Sten then you know how investors react when founders can't answer simple questions about their business they're out every time they don't don't care about how passionate you are your passion isn't going to make them any money but Revenue margins and scalability will The Numbers Never Lie and when you understand them you can use them to predict

the future so you could say the analyst is also the truth Seeker a fortune teller who anticipates problems before they happen their focus on tracking numbers allows them to find leverage points that can turn the business's weaknesses into stress LS someone who knows how every decision impacts the bottom line now you can't hire this role out okay not yet you have to be the one who understands your business better than anyone when you do your decisions get sharper your moves get smarter and you spot the opportunities in the risks that's when your momentum starts to

build and that's when you're ready for the next critical hire number two is the operator now this is your second hire and their job is to do the jobs that keep you from doing your job sounds a bit confusing okay so let's explain as your operation expands hopefully your plate of things that you need to do will get bigger and bigger to the point where the day-to-day operations keep you from doing your main job which is looking at the numbers and figuring out how to make them bigger the exact job of the operator changes depending

on your business like for example if you got a farm the operator is the one taking care of the crops while you're out there talking with clients and suppliers in a tech startup the operator handles product development managing engineers and keeping the platform running while you focus on securing funding Partnerships and scaling the user base this person will eventually become the COO or Chief Operating Officer they're the glue that holds everything together while you focus on growth their job is to maintain order and operation so that you can have the space to think plan and

execute at a higher level the relationship between the analyst you the founder and the operator is one of the most important Dynamics in any business we've seen it time and time again in smaller companies Steve Jobs had Tim Cook Walt Disney had Roy Disney in the early days of PayPal while Peter teal was focused on the big picture strategy Keith Robos was the one who held down the fort and kept PayPal's day to-day operations going he also built systems that stop the company from bleeding money due to scams and chargebacks he worked with banks to

keep the company compliant and functional and he got the team to build self-service tools that allowed users to solve their own problems which made the entire company more reliable as your second hire and your most important one you're going to have to be really strategic with who you choose you want them to have the skills that you need sure but they also need to embody the work culture and relationship that benefits you and your company they need to push back on your ideas and ask the right questions so that both of you can understand where

you're going they need to manage people systems and services and products without always needing your advice and input and you two need to be able to work well together it helps if your communication styles are similar so that neither of you gets confused or offended easily there a jack of all trades juggling many balls and they do it calmly now third up is the Builder this is the first time you bring in somebody who actually knows what they're doing if the operator does a bit of everything to keep things running smoothly the Builder does one

thing they create your product they're usually more knowledgeable than you but they have no interest in starting their own thing they just want to build and create without having to deal with the frustration of owning a business and if your thing doesn't work out well they'll move on to another company no hard feelings going back to the farm example this is someone who's mastered soil fertility and can max out any given crop at a coffee shop this is the Barista who can actually make an Instagram worthy flow on steamed milk at the very top level

this is someone like Johnny IV who translated Steve Jobs ideas into actual physical products at scale this person might eventually become the chief product officer the lead designer or the head of engineering but early on their job is just to build the best possible version of whatever it is your offering there are the difference between an average product and something people can't stop talking about the Builder is the reason your productor service isn't just good enough they should challenge your assumptions and push for excellence even when you're tempted to settle for good enough they don't

need to manage people or deal with operations they just need the space tools and freedom to create which is why we often don't even hear about the Builder you use their Creations you might be aware of the company's CEO but the Builder who's that that's exactly the person you're looking for and if you find the right one they won't just make your business better they will make it iconic here's how you can spot them in just one conversation they'll talk in details not just Concepts they have an obsession with their craft and they'll go where

they have the most freedom to push it and they've got no interest in running the business they just want to build Builders thrive in an environment where they can create not manage if they start talking about how they want to run the show they're not the Builder they're a future operator or analyst number four the seller now at the very beginning you are the one talking to clients and customers you know your product best plus you're the only employee right now this is a trap many new entrepreneurs fall into they end up up staying employees

within their own company with nobody at the helm this is when you bring in someone specialized in sales and marketing because they're going to turn interest into actual dollars a great seller isn't just someone who knows how to persuade they understand human psychology pricing strategies and how to turn objections into opportunities now saffra cats is probably one of the greatest sellers of our time she's responsible for transforming the company or orle into an Enterprise software giant she drove 130 Acquisitions structured massive deals with companies that locked them into oracle's ecosystem for years and then she

sold the company's Vision to governments corporations and Tech Giants but how did she manage that how does a seller get people from all areas to jump on board well first of all they don't just sell a product they sell certainty they shape the entire environment of the deal before the final conversation even happens and they can handle the pressure no matter who's in The Boardroom the seller is the reason your product thrives they need to be skilled at persuasion sure but they also need to understand your brand your customers and how to sell without cheapening

the value of what you're offering they need to be comfortable with rejection aggressive in pursuit of deals and Relentless in closing opportunities and now now a business with an operator a builder and a seller is not just a startup it's a machine and that's when you're ready for number five the Storyteller now if you're just doing this for yourself you don't need a Storyteller you can tell yourself whatever story you want but if this becomes bigger than you well then things start to be a bit different right a Storyteller is basically someone that makes a

company cool if we're being honest it can be a single person like in the case of Steve Jobs or it can be an entire department that's why when you think of Red Bull you think of Adventure and extreme sports not weird College cocktails with questionable alcohol if you own a fashion brand there the Reas in your clothes aren't just fabric they represent a movement a lifestyle or an identity if you've got a restaurant they're the person who makes sure your story is about more than just the food it's about Nostalgia innovation culture or whatever makes

your place memorable they aren't just putting out ads or writing slogans they're shaping how the world sees your company a great Storyteller doesn't just talk about the product they create an emotional connection between your audience and your brand Nike doesn't just sell shoes they sell the story of determination and victory Lego doesn't just sell plastic bricks they sell the story of creativity and Imagination as your fifth higher and the person responsible for how the world perceives your business you need to be extremely deliberate about who you choose they need to understand people culture and identity

not just marketing tactics Boma St John is a great example of this she's responsible for shaping the identity of Brands like uber Apple Netflix and PepsiCo she made Apple music about culture not just streaming She Made Them cool by focusing on the artists moments and the people shaping the music landscape when Uber had its PR crisis and was struggling with negative press she was brought in to rebuild the company's image she turned the focus Back To Human connection movement and accessibility a good Storyteller knows where the cultural shift is heading and they get their brand

there ahead of time before everyone else so it's fresh and exciting they capture the Ence of what makes your company different and they amplify it what you're selling means something not just to you but to the people who buy it the deeper and more precisely you can focus on that meaning the more you'll connect with your audience the right Storyteller won't just make your company cool they'll make it Unforgettable and as a bonus for sticking with us until the end we got to talk about the big hire for a second because there's a moment in

every business where growth turns into chaos what worked before stopped working systems break Revenue stalls decisions feel bigger but progress feels slower and that's when you need the big higher the master of that one thing you need to fix the big hire isn't a generalist they're experts at one thing it could be operations Finance product development or systems design whatever it is they have a deep industry knowledge of it their expertise will directly impact your Revenue scale or strategy because the big hire only focuses on the one thing that's holding back your success you can't

bring them in too early it's not going to be effective if you try to they'll either be wasted or they'll disrupt things before the business is ready for it it's the big hires that have helped the most recognizable Brands get to where they are today when luxury fashion house bur sales were Tak thinking they brought in Angela arens a master of retail and brand expansion they knew their brand needed to reach a wider audience and Angela was the one to do it she ran an aggressive digital marketing campaign to appeal to the younger generation but

she still made it feel luxurious and exclusive when Apple sales were strong but their own stores were struggling to get people in the door they turned to Angela too she's responsible for making their stores feel like a futuristic cultural hub rather than just a shopping space Sundar Pichi on the other hand is an expert of product development and scaling Tech ecosystems he led the development of Google Chrome and then he went to Android where he streamlined its development and now he's at alphabet working on AI and cloud computing two very different types of workers but

both big hires first you have to find the major problem then you can bring in a specialist to fix it they're the people who are going to Mash that glass ceiling for you and alexer this is how David beat Goliath he was an analyst he assessed the situation understood his own strengths and spotted Goliath's weaknesses he was also an operator once he had a plan he had to execute it no hesitation no second guesses David was also a builder the stones he chose for his slingshot were smooth so they could fly better and faster he

understood his craft as a seller David had to convince people that he would win even though the odds were not in his favor and well his story is one of the most famous Underdog victories in history okay it's compelling and we're still talking about it when you have the right people by your side there are no limits to what you can do axer so go on take down a giant we'll see you back here next time