Learnings from our Operator Network: how seasoned builders can add value to your growth journey
Here at Northzone we understand that an early-stage founder’s role is both visionary & strategic as well as practical & tactical, combined (and often all-at-once!).
As a result, we are actively building an Operator Network that can help our companies’ with what they are tackling, whether that’s a day-to-day functional question or a new, big picture creative idea.
Having worked in both an expert network, where investors get access to dynamic, transactional insights at their fingertips, as well as in a private equity firm where the value-added model is based on more in-depth and ongoing mentorship, I believe that fast-growth tech companies can benefit from both approaches, at different times, and this is what our Operator Network strives to offer.
In the past month we’ve had conversations with ~100 talented operators within our network and facilitated introductions with our companies on a variety of topics. Examples include: “how do I build an engaged, bottom-up community for my product?”, “do I need a CRO or COO?”, “how can I build a robust product roadmap?”, “how do I hire my first employee in a new market?” and “how do I structure my go-to-market team?”.
This is what we’ve learned:
You can’t put a label on experienced tech talent
All the operators in our network are multi-skilled and enjoy wearing many hats
Take a Head of Engineering for example, who has been through an impressive scale-up journey in one of the leading tech companies. She can of course provide tangible insights around her functional expertise in her specific sector. Beyond that, however, she has most likely seen numerous versions — some successful and some not — of how to organise the team and how to collaborate most effectively cross-functionally whilst scaling. She probably also has lots of stories to share on how to attract, hire and retain the best people. And she is likely thinking about how to start her next venture and/or how to be an angel investor in the next big thing. Pigeonholing this type of expertise is too restrictive and we often find the role of functional expert, scale-up mentor, co-founder and investor is fluid and interlinked.
Short term financial agreements is not their primary driver
Most operators are driven by “giving back” to the ecosystem and being in the flow of interesting & innovate start-ups
Although we believe that expertise should definitely be rewarded, we usually find through our work with operators that a short term arrangement is not what is motivating them. Yes, if we are talking about a tangible, specific project, then a per diem agreement is very practical, easy and functional on both sides. However, more often than not, the operators are keen to take a couple of exploratory calls to establish how they can be helpful and let the relationship develop more organically. This is partly driven by the fact that they enjoy giving back and sharing war stories. It also enables them to have their finger on the pulse of interesting ideas, be able to assess founders & teams that match their values & ambitions and be in the driving seat around how they choose to spend their time.
Operators can play a key role in designing your leadership team
Speaking to a few operators can help provide the “a-ha!” moment in what you are looking for
Organisational design is hard, especially when you are accelerating at 300mph. The intention of our Operator Network is not to replace search firms in any way for our portfolio companies. However, our companies have found it very helpful in figuring out what type of skill set needs they have in the first place. Having 2–3 exploratory conversations with operators has proven invaluable in calibrating backgrounds and identifying how you can structure your C-level team. If we can facilitate a full-time C-level match even better, but we’ve found that’s a lot more serendipitous!
No problem is too small or too big
Most operators are happy to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in
The best operator matches we’ve facilitated are the ones where the engagement spans between the practical and the strategic. They understand that a founder’s day is constantly navigating the two as they have been through the journey before. They are not too precious in always being in the “advisor” role and are able to get into the details with our companies.
Chemistry is everything
Founder fit is obvious from the get-go and cultural fit cannot be overemphasized
A little bit like matchmaking, the fit needs to be right. Inevitably, a relationship can only evolve into a more ongoing one if the values and cultural fit is there, even if the engagement is not full time. The primary lens should always be: “do I enjoy spending time with this person?” on both sides. If the answer is no, move on, and try to find the match that sparks your energy and creativity beyond addressing specific expertise.
Reach out to me at elena@northzone.com to help matchmake.
