Investors not only play an important role in funding the startup to build products with cutting edge technology, but also helps in incubating the startups starting from hiring talent to building a product roadmap until the launch.
Startups today are thriving with cutting-edge products and services by having a product roadmap and working to achieve the mapped-out goals. This product roadmap then attracts investors and funding for a startup to become a unicorn and finally prosper at a global level. This can only be achieved by having right talent at the right time that can contribute to their flourishing growth. However, hiring today is one of the toughest challenges that organizations come across given the competitiveness of the market. Especially, if a startup relies on skilled or STEM employees, landing and retaining the right talent can give a tough time to growth plans of a startup.
The Covid-19 pandemic, accelerated digitization, and a funding spree have all made sure that demand for high-quality engineering talent in India has skyrocketed. India’s funding boom for startups has been fueling the demand of fresh tech talent. While talent shortage is a problem across many industries, startups face some peculiar challenges of hiring as well as retaining the talent for a long term. Unlike established firm with high end technology and deep pockets, startups face the struggle of attracting talent to contribute to the growth and product journey. Fresh graduates, well versed with the latest technology often hesitate to work at a startup and look for well establish technology companies. Even though the pay might not be as attractive as what the startups are offering now a days, fresh talent tends to gain experience and be mentored by industry experts working with bigger firms.
Another problem which startups face while building people roadmap is when the existing employees switch for a similar role to other startups due to lucrative perks or strong leadership team. Hence, retaining employees also depends on the leadership team. For young startups it is very important to have well known industry experts as a part of their leadership team which in return will retain the exiting talent and attract fresh graduates to be a part of the company. Since the pay scale tends to be on the same lines, leadership plays a huge role in setting the startup apart from the rest and attracts investors leading to accelerated people and product growth.
Investors not only play an important role in funding the startup to build products with cutting edge technology, but also helps in incubating the startups starting from hiring talent to building a product roadmap until the launch. The role of investors and partners today is more diversified, and they have a great understanding of the skill gap and helps the startup look for the right talent through target hiring. Investments firms and venture capitalists have been in the industry space for a longer period where they tend to leverage their connections to attract top talent towards a potential startup and hence play a very integral role in people roadmap. Today, early-stage startups benefit the most from investors tuned incubators, where the investor itself helps the startup build a company roadmap including hiring plans and retaining the talent for a longer period. This results in a strong team with good leadership and continuous mentorship for the investors which in return attracts external funds.
Unlike before when product/service offered was the only key aspect for raising funds, today people and the team plays an equally important role in attracting funding. The team and the employees outline the work culture and makes ground for future growth. In some cases, we see that initial employees tend to move on due to bad work culture, hampering the product development. This also results in high attrition
rate and repels new talent at a early stage. Whereas startups that grow along with its initial team, tends to attract more talent, and retain the talent for longer which in return is very crucial on the roadmap to be a unicorn.
Keeping in view the intense competition in every industry, startups now understand the value of creating a customized blueprint for each employee’s need and professional growth. Unlike the entrepreneurs, employees do not need to be burdened with business challenges, instead they need to feel empowered and productive to help a startup grow and thrive. By having great mentors, learning workshops and a work – life balance, startups can increase their chances of success in the market by retaining the existing talent. Additionally, will end up attracting the best talent but also benefit from an experienced team. The right mix of monetary and non-monetary benefits can help any startup build a great people roadmap which in return will help build a great product roadmap.
Source: Business World
