What’s the greatest quality of any startup?
A Phenomenal Idea? There have been plenty of businesses with stupid ideas that have flourished, and plenty more with “interesting” ideas and epic failures. No, the idea can’t be a startup’s greatest quality.
A savvy Management team? This can definitely be helpful, but many startups with smart founders also stutter in finding paths to revenue and profitability. No, I don’t think a savvy management team is the greatest quality either.
Lots of Cash? Well… cash is nice, and definitely necessary to build a business. But cash …

For ages I’ve been told that to recruit the best talent, you’ve got to compensate the best. Top talent comes with high price tags. And why shouldn’t it? Anyone who’s worth their weight in gold deserves just that. But in the startup game, cash is king. It’s just plain difficult to pay early hires what they’re worth. How do you recruit game-changing talent without putting your startup in a “OMFG, I can’t make payroll tomorrow” situation?
With my startup company Pocket Tales, we were in such a position. My partner and …