Investors think that hard tech climate scaleups lack generalist and financial expertise. While Founders agree only with the latter. Why?
📖I’m reading the Building and Scaling Climate Hardware Playbook, and this picture struck me for two reasons. First, are the polarizing views of founders and investors. The gap is simply astonishing. Second, is the confidence of founders, that they have all the generalist skills needed.
❓What is a generalist anyway? I’d say he is a consigliere in Mafia terms. What the hell does a consigliere do in a hard tech startup? Here is my take (in no particular order):
👥Team organization. Who’s doing what and what protocols the team follows in different circumstances.
💰Investor relations. A generalist can answer the main question of the business - where is the money? He keeps relationships with current and future investors smooth, being their one-stop shop for any questions they might have. Note that pure finance guy/gal are not the best for it, as they often need more business acumen.
🎙️Public Face. Being a generalist helps when speaking to the public, journalists, regulators, etc.
🧭Strategy. For the generalist, it is easy to keep track if the company is on the right track. He can be an early warning system of the need to pivot or to get back to doing the right thing.
🧞♂️Filling in roles. A startup is by definition understaffed. A generalist often has enough experience or training to temporarily fill the roles of CFO, CCO, or industry expert.
Given that investors see more than one startup in their lifetimes, and given my experience as a generalist, I side with investors. What’s your take?