328: Why Every Serial Business Builder and Entrepreneur Needs a Startup Squad

Sep 6, 2017

Godard Abel, founder and executive chairman of G2 Crowd, a fast-growing tech startup in Chicago, has been building businesses for more than a decade.

 

His first startup, BigMachines, was sold to Oracle for more than $400 million in 2013. His next startup, Steelbrick, raised more than $50 million in less than four years and was acquired by Salesforce for $360M.

 

But, none of this would have been possible without the underground network of talent that follow him from one venture to the next. He refers to this core group as his startup squad. He’s trained this team on how to grow businesses from the ground-up quickly and efficiently. It includes engineers, designers, sales and marketing reps and customer service specialists. 

 

Godard shares his insight on how to build this team with special focus on how to maintain their loyalty through mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs.