Growing Pains and Gains: How Start-up Founders are Learning to Build a Team

Written By: Chastiny Brown

Building a startup demands more than just a great idea—it requires the right people to bring that idea to life. Through the DivInc Internship Program powered by Blackstone LaunchPad, 12 founders hired 30 interns to support their business goals while learning valuable lessons about team-building. 

Why Hiring is Crucial for Growth 

For some founders, managing interns was a first-time experience, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities of leading a team. Keeping an open mind to intern support can offer effective ways of getting important work done on a budget while learning ways to foster a culture of growth. With the help of DivInc’s Internship Program, founders gained invaluable insights for navigating the challenges and opportunities of scaling a startup team.

For founders like Kedreon Cole, CEO of XR Sports Group, interns were pivotal in creating tools like an ROI calculator, allowing the company to focus more on long-term strategy. Another founder noted that the collaborative environment fostered by the interns sparked new creative ideas. Brianna Brazel, CEO and founder of CultureLancer said her interns “were instrumental in advancing UX designs and workflows,” ultimately contributing to the business's growth. 

However, managing interns also revealed some growing pains. Founders like Tameshia Rudd-ridge and Jourdan Brunson of Kinkofa found it challenging to help interns manage their time and communicate effectively while Mariah Barber from Invisible Strengths had to devote more attention to training interns in sales skills than anticipated.

For first-time founders, planning and preparation are essential when building a team.  Clearly outlining the roles, expectations, and deliverables for interns is essential to ensuring that both the intern and the founder benefit from the collaboration. If you want to learn more about how to delegate effectively and structure your team for success, follow along on social media for our next post, The Path Forward: Leading and Utilizing Support in a Startup. It dives deeper into how founders can manage, mentor, and grow their teams in dynamic startup environments!

Follow DivInc on Instagram and LinkedIn.

‍