Startup Roles – The Key Roles in a Startup Company
Starting a new business is no small feat. It takes passion, grit, determination, and a strong team. When putting together your founding startup team, it’s important to understand the key roles that need to be filled to set your business up for success.
Just like players on a sports team, each startup role serves a specific function that contributes to the overall mission. Having the right people in these positions will help the business execute effectively towards its goals.
So what are the key startup roles? Let’s take a look at the MVP – the minimum viable positions – needed to get a new venture off the ground and running.
The Visionaries – Founders and Co-Founders
Every startup begins with its founders – the pioneers who originally came up with the business idea or concept and decided to pursue it. Oftentimes startups have more than one founder, known as co-founders.
Founders and co-founders play several important roles:
- Developing the initial business plan and goals
- Conducting market research
- Securing early funding and financing
- Building the founding team
- Setting the overall strategy and vision for the company
Basically, the founders put the major pieces in place to get the startup launched. They turn their business idea into an actual entity.
Key traits for successful founders include:
- Strong business acumen
- Strategic thinking abilities
- Persistence in the face of obstacles
- Ability to inspire and lead a team
- Comfort with uncertainty and risk
Having the right mix of founders with complementary skill sets and backgrounds can give a startup a major edge.
The Executive – CEO/President
The Chief Executive Officer or President is the highest level executive who manages the overall operations and resources of a company. This person is ultimately responsible for the startup’s performance.
The CEO ensures the business is on track to meet its goals and objectives. Key responsibilities include:
- Developing and implementing strategic plans
- Providing leadership and direction to the management team
- Making major corporate decisions
- Managing important company relationships
- Ensuring operations are efficient and effective
- Reporting to the Board of Directors
Strong strategic thinking, leadership, communication, and people skills are vital for successfully serving as CEO. Oftentimes one of the startup founders assumes this role.
The Operator – COO
The Chief Operating Officer or COO is the executive who oversees the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of a company. They execute plans to reach goals set by the CEO and other top management.
Typical COO responsibilities consist of:
- Directing and coordinating activities across departments
- Implementing operational strategies and policies
- Liaising between departments to improve alignment
- Streamlining processes and enhancing efficiencies
- Providing visibility into operations for the CEO and Board
- Managing budgets and resources appropriately
The COO role requires excellent planning abilities, project management skills, analytical thinking, and attention to detail. A COO with a strong operations background helps make sure everyday execution stays on track.
The Vision Keeper – CMO
The Chief Marketing Officer or CMO is an executive that oversees the development and execution of an organization’s marketing and communications strategies and activities.
As head of marketing, the CMO’s main responsibilities include:
- Developing the marketing strategy to align with business goals
- Directing market research initiatives
- Overseeing branding, advertising, promotions, PR, digital marketing and campaigns
- Driving new customer acquisition efforts
- Managing the marketing team and budget
- Generating meaningful insights into marketing and sales performance
Excellent CMOs have creative instincts, analytical abilities, project leadership, and a passion for understanding customer perspectives. They turn the founder’s vision into strategies that resonate in the marketplace.
The Builder – CTO
The Chief Technology Officer or CTO is an executive who focuses on the technological needs of a company. The CTO is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of technology infrastructure that aligns with the startup’s objectives.
Main CTO duties include:
- Evaluating technologies and setting the technical strategy
- Building and managing the engineering and IT teams
- Overseeing software design, development, and infrastructure
- Anticipating and staying ahead of technical challenges
- Coordinating between departments on tech-related needs
- Optimizing systems architecture, security, and performance
CTOs have deep technology expertise combined with leadership and collaboration abilities. They ensure the startup has the right technical foundation and capabilities to support growth.
The Money Advocate – CFO
The Chief Financial Officer or CFO oversees all financial activities and performance for an organization. As head steward of the company’s finances, the CFO’s responsibilities consist of:
- Directing financial planning, budgets, and accounting practices
- Analyzing costs, revenue streams, profitability, and other KPIs
- Making strategic recommendations based on financial analysis
- Establishing and maintaining financial controls and compliance
- Reporting on financial status to executives, Board, and stakeholders
- Overseeing financing strategies, investment decisions, and cash flow
Strong CFOs have excellent financial acumen, analytical skills, and leadership capabilities. Their guidance and insights on the money side are invaluable for startups.
The Seller – VP of Sales
The Vice President or Head of Sales spearheads a startup’s sales activities and strategy. This role is critical for driving revenue, forging customer relationships, and facilitating company growth.
Typical VP Sales responsibilities include:
- Developing the sales strategy and setting performance targets
- Motivating, leading, and mentoring the sales team
- Overseeing account management and customer relations
- Supporting business development and partnerships
- Providing reporting and insights into sales activities
- Collaborating with other departments on sales initiatives
- Helping shape pricing and contract negotiations
Great sales leaders have charisma, strong communication abilities, and exceptional relationship-building skills. A VP of Sales who excels at equipping and enabling a sales force can make a major impact.
The Finance Guy – Head of Finance
While the CFO focuses on high-level strategic company finances, the Head of Finance role centers on executing day-to-day financial operations. This position oversees accounting, reporting, budgeting, cash flow, and related administrative matters.
Usual Head of Finance responsibilities include:
- Managing daily accounting procedures and bookkeeping
- Preparing and analyzing financial statements, budgets, and reports
- Supporting funding, investment, and cash management activities
- Ensuring compliance with finance policies and regulations
- Assessing and improving financial systems and controls
- Collaborating with executives on finance-related initiatives
Strong finance heads have excellent attention to detail, organizational skills, and analytical abilities. Their hands-on oversight of finances and reporting keeps the backend running smoothly.
The Orchestrator – Project Manager
Project managers play a key role in coordinating and executing important initiatives and tasks for startups. They plan and organize projects while managing resources, workflows, and teams to meet objectives on time and budget.
Typical project manager responsibilities include:
- Working with stakeholders to define project scope and specifications
- Creating detailed project plans, schedules, and milestones
- Assembling project teams and assigning individual responsibilities
- Managing budgets, tracking progress and dependencies
- Resolving issues that arise and mitigating risks
- Facilitating communication, collaboration, and teamwork
- Reporting on progress and metrics to executives and stakeholders
Great project managers have excellent organization, time management, and people skills. They orchestrate the people, processes, and tools needed for project success.
The Builder – Software Architect
A software architect has a technical lead role in the design and development of software products and applications. This position makes high-level design choices, defines software structure, and integrates components.
Usual software architect responsibilities include:
- Collaborating with product managers and engineers on software requirements
- Performing technical evaluations and proposing software designs
- Directing prototyping efforts and proof of concepts
- Determining optimal software frameworks, patterns and integrations
- Overseeing code implementation and software QA testing
- Communicating with stakeholders on project status
- Ensuring design principles, best practices, and standards are followed
Strong software architects have exceptional technical knowledge and architectural design experience. They ensure the software is scalable, high-quality, and maintainable.
The Maker – Software Engineer
Software engineers are the technical professionals who actually build and develop technology products. They apply engineering principles, languages, and tools to convert software designs and requirements into functional code and systems.
Main software engineering duties involve:
- Collaborating with architects and developers on software design
- Coding, debugging, testing, and implementing software modules
- Performing code reviews, refactoring, and optimization
- Writing automation scripts to facilitate the development
- Documenting architecture, features, and APIs
- Identifying and troubleshooting defects and issues
- Staying up-to-date with tech advancements
Software engineers should have strong development and coding abilities combined with problem-solving skills. They bring software architectures to life.
The Harmonizer – HR Manager
An HR or Human Resources manager handles a startup’s people and talent functions. This role oversees recruiting, onboarding, training, performance management, compensation, and culture-building activities.
Typical HR manager responsibilities include:
- Developing HR policies, procedures, and standards
- Recruiting, interviewing, and hiring qualified candidates
- Onboarding new employees and managing orientations
- Administering pay, benefits, wellness, and leave programs
- Supporting employee relations, engagement, and retention
- Organizing learning and development opportunities
- Ensuring compliance with employment laws and regulations
- Tracking HR metrics like turnover, satisfaction, and safety
Successful HR managers have excellent communication abilities, emotional intelligence, ethics, and organizational skills. They promote positive and productive workplace environments.
The Storyteller – Content Marketer
A content marketer is responsible for creating compelling and informative content to promote a brand. This role produces content in various formats to engage audiences and generate interest in products or services.
Main content marketing duties include:
- Creating content calendars and strategies
- Developing engaging blogs, articles, eBooks, videos, etc.
- Integrating SEO principles and Keyword Optimization
- Promoting content through social media, email marketing, etc.
- Analyzing content performance with web traffic, lead quality, sales
- Gaining insights into buyer interests and pain points
- Collaborating with departments like marketing, sales, and PR
Strong content marketers have excellent writing skills and creativity along with analytical thinking. They use content to connect with customers and prospects.
The Connector – Business Development
The business development role focuses on identifying and pursuing opportunities to help grow a startup’s business. This includes initiating partnerships, channels, and other relationships to expand markets and revenue streams.
Typical business development responsibilities consist of:
- Researching market and partnership opportunities
- Reaching out to prospective partners and building relationships
- Assessing and recommending potential deals and agreements
- Structuring, negotiating, and closing business partnerships
- Working cross-functionally to foster partnerships
- Managing existing partnerships and maximizing their value
- Tracking growth and opportunity pipelines
Great business developers have strong strategic thinking, networking abilities, and interpersonal skills. They open doors and make connections to spur startup growth.
The Messenger – PR Specialist
A PR or Public Relations specialist helps manage a startup’s reputation, brand image, and external communications. They oversee PR initiatives to shape positive public perceptions.
Usual PR specialist duties include:
- Developing PR strategies to support the startup’s objectives
- Crafting press releases, bylined articles, content, and talking points
- Building relationships with media contacts and influencers
- Fielding media inquiries and interview requests
- Monitoring news coverage and social media activity
- Managing events, conferences, and other PR activities
- Providing guidance on effective communication and messaging
Successful PR requires excellent written and verbal communication skills, media savvy, creativity, and strategic thinking. PR specialists help amplify and promote the startup brand.
Conclusion
Launching a startup takes talented, committed people to fill many different roles. Assembling a diverse team with complementary skill sets gives a new venture its best chance for liftoff.
While startups may not have extensive headcounts at the outset, investing in the right capabilities and positions provides a strong organizational foundation. With core roles like visionary founders, builders, marketers, and sellers in place, you equip your startup for success on its journey from scrappy underdog to industry leader.
