For a new capital-light web startup I’m a big fan of a two person team comprised of a product manager with domain expertise and a lead developer. This type of team can move quickly towards finding product/market fit. Now, as the team grows from there the third hire should often be another software engineer. Software engineers, especially in the early stages, provide great leverage and economies of scale with their time.
At some point the product rapidly approaches the needs of the market, which are being coordinated through customer driven development by the product manager, and it ‘s time for that fourth hire. That fourth hire should either be another software developer or a jack-of-all-trades with a marketing/sales/service focus to start building a sales and marketing machine.
Here’s the ideal four person startup:
- Product manager/domain expert
- Lead developer
- Software developer
- Software developer or jack-of-all-trades sales and marketing person
Building a successful startup takes timing, luck, and hard work. A team like this significantly improves the odds of success.
What else? What’s your ideal four person startup team?
David Cummings on Startups 
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