Extract

Business creation is inherently a social activity. The persistent myth of the solo economic gunslinger—taking on all comers in a competitive shootout—is just that, a myth. Few activities require more human contacts with customers, partners and employees, suppliers, supportive family and mentors, financiers, regulators and, to some extent, competitors. The start-up team and these social networks may be involved in close social relationships. There are two ways to consider the start-up teams working with nascent ventures. The size and structure of start-up teams experienced by 16 million nascent entrepreneurs is presented in Figure 5.1, reflecting adjustments to compensate for different amounts of time in the start-up process.