Team Building Workflow
Complete guide to building your team including hiring processes, org design, compensation, and culture development
The Team Building workflow helps founders hire effectively, build strong teams, and create a culture that attracts and retains talent.
Overview#
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Phases | 4 |
| Tier | Business |
| Typical Duration | Ongoing |
| Best For | First hires, scaling teams, culture building |
Why Team Building Matters#
Your team is your company:
- Execution depends on people - Great strategy with weak team loses to weak strategy with great team
- Culture compounds - Early hires define the culture for years
- Hiring is expensive - Bad hires cost 2-3x salary in lost productivity
- Retention drives success - Keeping great people is harder than hiring them
Team Building Framework#
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TEAM BUILDING FRAMEWORK │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ ORGANIZATION DESIGN │ │
│ │ Structure, roles, reporting, growth path │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌───────────────┼───────────────┐ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ ┌──────▼──────┐ ┌──────▼──────┐ ┌──────▼──────┐ │
│ │ HIRING │ │ COMPENSATION│ │ CULTURE │ │
│ │ Process & │ │ Salary & │ │ Values & │ │
│ │ pipeline │ │ equity │ │ practices │ │
│ └──────┬──────┘ └──────┬──────┘ └──────┬──────┘ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ └───────────────┼───────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌──────▼──────┐ │
│ │ PERFORMANCE │ │
│ │ Management │ │
│ │ & growth │ │
│ └─────────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Phases#
Phase 1: Organization Design (3-5 days)#
Agents: business-analyst
Plan your organizational structure and roles.
Tasks:
- Define organizational structure
- Create role definitions
- Plan hiring sequence
- Design career paths
Organizational Planning:
## Org Structure by Stage
### Stage 1: Founders Only (0-3 people)┌─────────────┐
│ Founder(s) │
│ Everything │
└─────────────┘
- No formal structure needed
- Everyone does everything
- Focus: Product-market fit
### Stage 2: First Hires (3-8 people)
┌─────────────┐
│ CEO/CTO │
└──────┬──────┘
│
┌──────────┼──────────┐
│ │ │
┌───▼───┐ ┌───▼───┐ ┌───▼───┐ │ Eng 1 │ │ Eng 2 │ │ Biz │ └───────┘ └───────┘ └───────┘
- Flat structure
- Generalists preferred
- Focus: Shipping fast
### Stage 3: Team Leads (8-20 people)
┌─────────────┐
│ CEO │
└──────┬──────┘
│
┌────────────────┼────────────────┐
│ │ │
┌───▼───┐ ┌────▼───┐ ┌───▼───┐ │ CTO │ │ CPO │ │ COO │ ├───────┤ ├────────┤ ├───────┤ │ Eng │ │ Design │ │ Ops │ │ Team │ │ PM │ │ CS │ └───────┘ └────────┘ └───────┘
- Functional organization
- Team leads emerge
- Focus: Scaling execution
### Stage 4: Departments (20-50 people)
┌─────────────┐
│ CEO │
└──────┬──────┘
│
┌─────────┬───────────┼───────────┬─────────┐
│ │ │ │ │
┌───▼───┐ ┌───▼───┐ ┌────▼───┐ ┌───▼───┐ ┌───▼───┐ │ CTO │ │ CPO │ │ CRO │ │ CFO │ │ CHRO │ ├───────┤ ├───────┤ ├────────┤ ├───────┤ ├───────┤ │ Eng │ │Product│ │ Sales │ │Finance│ │People │ │ Infra │ │Design │ │Marketing│ │ Legal │ │ Ops │ │ Data │ │ UX │ │ CS │ │ │ │ │ └───────┘ └───────┘ └────────┘ └───────┘ └───────┘
- Specialized functions
- Middle management
- Focus: Operational excellence
Role Definition Template:
1## Role: [Title]
2
3### Overview
4**Department:** [Department]
5**Reports to:** [Manager]
6**Location:** [Remote/Location]
7**Level:** [IC/Manager/Director/VP]
8
9### Role Summary
10[2-3 sentences describing the role and its impact]
11
12### Responsibilities
13- [Responsibility 1]
14- [Responsibility 2]
15- [Responsibility 3]
16- [Responsibility 4]
17- [Responsibility 5]
18
19### Requirements
20**Must Have:**
21- [Requirement 1]
22- [Requirement 2]
23- [Requirement 3]
24
25**Nice to Have:**
26- [Nice to have 1]
27- [Nice to have 2]
28
29### Success Metrics
30**30 days:**
31- [What success looks like in first month]
32
33**90 days:**
34- [What success looks like in first quarter]
35
36**1 year:**
37- [What success looks like at one year]
38
39### Compensation
40- **Salary Range:** $X - $Y
41- **Equity:** X.XX% - X.XX%
42- **Benefits:** [Summary]Hiring Sequence:
1## Recommended Hiring Sequence
2
3### Phase 1: Core Product (Employees 1-5)
4| Order | Role | Why Now |
5|-------|------|---------|
6| 1 | Full-stack Engineer | Build core product |
7| 2 | Full-stack Engineer | Accelerate development |
8| 3 | Product Designer | Improve UX |
9| 4 | Customer Success | Support early users |
10
11### Phase 2: Growth (Employees 6-10)
12| Order | Role | Why Now |
13|-------|------|---------|
14| 5 | Marketing Lead | Drive acquisition |
15| 6 | Senior Engineer | Technical leadership |
16| 7 | Content Writer | Fuel content marketing |
17| 8 | SDR/Sales | If sales-led |
18
19### Phase 3: Scale (Employees 11-20)
20| Order | Role | Why Now |
21|-------|------|---------|
22| 9 | Engineering Manager | Team leadership |
23| 10 | Data Analyst | Metrics & insights |
24| 11 | Finance Lead | Financial operations |
25| 12 | HR/People Ops | People processes |
26
27### Signals to Hire
28
29**Engineer:**
30- Feature backlog > 2 sprints
31- Quality declining
32- Technical debt accumulating
33
34**Customer Success:**
35- Support response time > target
36- NPS declining
37- Churn increasing
38
39**Marketing:**
40- Organic growth plateauing
41- Need scalable acquisition
42- Ready to invest in content
43
44**Sales:**
45- Product-market fit confirmed
46- Enterprise interest emerging
47- Founders at capacity for salesPhase 2: Hiring Process (1 week setup)#
Agents: business-analyst
Create an effective and efficient hiring process.
Tasks:
- Define hiring process
- Create interview guides
- Build candidate pipeline
- Set up hiring tools
Hiring Process Framework:
1## Hiring Process (4-Stage)
2
3### Stage 1: Application Review (1-2 days)
4**Goal:** Filter to qualified candidates
5
6**Process:**
71. Review resume for key requirements
82. Check for red flags
93. Score against criteria
104. Decide: Advance / Reject / Maybe
11
12**Criteria Checklist:**
13- [ ] Meets must-have requirements
14- [ ] Relevant experience
15- [ ] Clear progression in career
16- [ ] No unexplained gaps
17- [ ] Quality of presentation
18
19### Stage 2: Phone Screen (30 min)
20**Goal:** Assess basic fit and interest
21
22**Conducted by:** Hiring manager or recruiter
23
24**Topics:**
251. Introduction and role overview
262. Candidate background
273. Interest in the company/role
284. Salary expectations
295. Timeline and logistics
306. Questions from candidate
31
32**Evaluate:**
33- Communication skills
34- Genuine interest
35- Culture fit signals
36- Salary alignment
37
38### Stage 3: Technical/Skills Assessment (1-2 hours)
39**Goal:** Evaluate job-specific skills
40
41**For Engineers:**
42- Take-home project (2-4 hours) OR
43- Live coding session (60-90 min)
44
45**For Other Roles:**
46- Case study or work sample
47- Portfolio review
48- Role-play exercise
49
50**Assessment Criteria:**
51| Criterion | Weight | Score |
52|-----------|--------|-------|
53| Technical competence | 40% | /5 |
54| Problem-solving | 25% | /5 |
55| Code/work quality | 20% | /5 |
56| Communication | 15% | /5 |
57
58### Stage 4: Final Interview (2-3 hours)
59**Goal:** Deep evaluation and team fit
60
61**Interview Panel:**
621. **Hiring Manager** (45 min)
63 - Deep dive on experience
64 - Technical/domain discussion
65 - Scenario-based questions
66
672. **Team Member** (45 min)
68 - Collaboration and work style
69 - Technical depth
70 - Culture fit
71
723. **Cross-functional** (30 min)
73 - Different perspective
74 - Communication across teams
75
764. **Founder/Executive** (30 min)
77 - Mission alignment
78 - Long-term potential
79 - Sell the company
80
81### Post-Interview Process
82
83**Same Day:**
84- All interviewers submit feedback
85- Do not discuss until all submitted
86
87**Within 24 Hours:**
88- Debrief meeting
89- Decision: Offer / Reject / Another round
90- Reference checks if proceeding
91
92**Within 48 Hours:**
93- Extend offer or rejection
94- Begin negotiation if neededInterview Questions Template:
1## Interview Questions by Category
2
3### Experience & Background
4- "Walk me through your career journey"
5- "What's the project you're most proud of?"
6- "Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn?"
7- "Why are you looking to leave your current role?"
8
9### Role-Specific (Engineering)
10- "How do you approach breaking down a large feature?"
11- "Tell me about a time you had to debug a complex issue"
12- "How do you balance speed vs. quality?"
13- "What's your experience with [specific technology]?"
14
15### Problem-Solving
16- "Tell me about a time you had to solve an ambiguous problem"
17- "How would you approach [relevant scenario]?"
18- "What would you do in your first 30 days?"
19
20### Collaboration & Culture
21- "How do you prefer to receive feedback?"
22- "Tell me about a conflict with a coworker. How did you resolve it?"
23- "What kind of culture do you thrive in?"
24- "How do you handle disagreement with your manager?"
25
26### Motivation & Fit
27- "Why this company?"
28- "What excites you about this role?"
29- "Where do you see yourself in 3 years?"
30- "What questions do you have for me?"
31
32### Red Flag Questions
33Ask these to surface potential issues:
34- "What would your current manager say is your biggest area for growth?"
35- "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision at work"
36- "What frustrates you about your current role?"Phase 3: Compensation & Equity (2-3 days)#
Agents: business-analyst
Create competitive and fair compensation structures.
Tasks:
- Research market rates
- Design salary bands
- Create equity structure
- Document total compensation
Compensation Framework:
1## Salary Bands
2
3### Band Structure
4
5| Level | Title Examples | Base Range |
6|-------|----------------|------------|
7| L1 | Junior/Associate | $60-80K |
8| L2 | Mid-level | $80-110K |
9| L3 | Senior | $110-150K |
10| L4 | Staff/Lead | $150-200K |
11| L5 | Principal/Director | $200-250K |
12| L6 | VP/Head of | $250-350K |
13
14### By Function (L3 Senior Example)
15
16| Function | 25th %ile | 50th %ile | 75th %ile |
17|----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
18| Engineering | $130K | $150K | $175K |
19| Product | $120K | $140K | $160K |
20| Design | $110K | $130K | $150K |
21| Marketing | $100K | $120K | $140K |
22| Sales (OTE) | $150K | $180K | $220K |
23
24### Location Adjustment
25
26| Tier | Locations | Adjustment |
27|------|-----------|------------|
28| Tier 1 | SF, NYC, Seattle | 100% |
29| Tier 2 | LA, Boston, Austin, Denver | 90% |
30| Tier 3 | Other US metros | 80% |
31| Tier 4 | Remote/LCOL | 70-75% |
32| International | Country-specific | Varies |
33
34### Compensation Data Sources
35- Levels.fyi (tech roles)
36- Glassdoor
37- Pave / Carta benchmarking
38- Peer companies
39- Candidate expectationsEquity Framework:
1## Equity Guidelines
2
3### Equity Bands by Stage (Seed/Series A)
4
5| Level | Title | Equity Range |
6|-------|-------|--------------|
7| L1 | Junior | 0.01% - 0.05% |
8| L2 | Mid-level | 0.05% - 0.15% |
9| L3 | Senior | 0.15% - 0.40% |
10| L4 | Staff/Lead | 0.40% - 0.75% |
11| L5 | Director | 0.75% - 1.25% |
12| L6 | VP/C-level | 1.25% - 3.00% |
13
14### Early Employee Ranges (First 10)
15
16| Employee # | Typical Range | Notes |
17|------------|---------------|-------|
18| 1 | 1.0% - 2.0% | First critical hire |
19| 2-3 | 0.5% - 1.0% | Core team |
20| 4-6 | 0.25% - 0.5% | Building team |
21| 7-10 | 0.15% - 0.35% | Growing team |
22
23### Vesting Schedule
24- **Standard:** 4 years with 1 year cliff
25- **Cliff:** 25% vests at 12 months
26- **Monthly:** Remaining 75% vests monthly over 36 months
27- **Acceleration:** Double-trigger (acquisition + termination)
28
29### Equity Refresh
30- Annual equity refresh for strong performers
31- Promotion grants when moving up levels
32- Retention grants for key employees
33
34### Equity Communication
35Include in offer:
36- Number of shares
37- Current strike price
38- Current valuation / preferred price
39- Last 409A valuation
40- Total shares outstanding
41- Percentage ownershipTotal Compensation Example:
1## Offer: Senior Software Engineer
2
3### Cash Compensation
4- **Base Salary:** $150,000/year
5- **Signing Bonus:** $10,000 (optional)
6
7### Equity
8- **Option Grant:** 15,000 shares
9- **Strike Price:** $0.50/share
10- **Percentage:** 0.25%
11- **Vesting:** 4 years, 1 year cliff
12
13### Benefits
14- **Health Insurance:** Company pays 100% employee, 50% dependent
15- **401(k):** 4% match after 90 days
16- **PTO:** Flexible/unlimited
17- **Equipment:** $2,000 home office setup
18- **Learning:** $1,000/year education budget
19- **Wellness:** $500/year wellness stipend
20
21### Equity Value Scenarios (Illustrative)
22
23| Exit Valuation | Share Value | Your Equity Value |
24|----------------|-------------|-------------------|
25| $50M | $0.83 | $12,500 |
26| $100M | $1.67 | $25,000 |
27| $250M | $4.17 | $62,500 |
28| $500M | $8.33 | $125,000 |
29| $1B | $16.67 | $250,000 |
30
31*Note: Illustrative only. Based on current cap table. Subject to dilution.*Phase 4: Culture & Performance (Ongoing)#
Agents: business-analyst
Build a strong culture and performance management system.
Tasks:
- Define company values
- Create onboarding program
- Establish feedback systems
- Design performance reviews
Culture Framework:
1## Company Culture
2
3### Core Values
4
5**1. [Value Name]**
6- Definition: [What this means]
7- We do: [Positive behaviors]
8- We don't: [Things to avoid]
9- Example: [Real scenario demonstrating value]
10
11**2. [Value Name]**
12[Repeat structure]
13
14### Cultural Practices
15
16| Practice | Frequency | Purpose |
17|----------|-----------|---------|
18| All-hands | Weekly | Transparency, alignment |
19| Team lunches | Monthly | Bonding, cross-team |
20| 1:1s | Weekly | Support, growth |
21| Feedback | Continuous | Improvement |
22| Offsites | Quarterly | Strategy, team building |
23
24### Onboarding Program
25
26**Week 1: Foundation**
27- Day 1: Welcome, setup, meet the team
28- Day 2-3: Company overview, product demo
29- Day 4-5: Role-specific training
30
31**Week 2: Immersion**
32- Shadow team members
33- First small task
34- Meet cross-functional partners
35- 1:1 with manager (goals)
36
37**Week 3-4: Contribution**
38- First real project
39- Attend relevant meetings
40- 30-day check-in
41- Gather feedback
42
43### Onboarding Checklist
44
45**Before Day 1:**
46- [ ] Laptop ordered and configured
47- [ ] Accounts created (email, Slack, tools)
48- [ ] Welcome email sent
49- [ ] Buddy assigned
50- [ ] First week scheduled
51
52**Day 1:**
53- [ ] Welcome meeting with manager
54- [ ] Team introductions
55- [ ] IT setup complete
56- [ ] Handbook review
57- [ ] Lunch with team
58
59**Week 1:**
60- [ ] Product deep dive
61- [ ] Meet key stakeholders
62- [ ] Understand goals and expectations
63- [ ] Access to all needed tools
64
65**Day 30:**
66- [ ] 30-day review meeting
67- [ ] Feedback collection
68- [ ] Goal settingPerformance Management:
1## Performance Review System
2
3### Review Cadence
4
5| Type | Frequency | Focus |
6|------|-----------|-------|
7| 1:1s | Weekly | Ongoing feedback, blockers |
8| Check-ins | Monthly | Progress on goals |
9| Performance review | Bi-annual | Formal evaluation |
10| Calibration | Bi-annual | Cross-team fairness |
11
12### Performance Dimensions
13
14| Dimension | Weight | Description |
15|-----------|--------|-------------|
16| Results | 50% | Achievement of goals |
17| How (values) | 30% | Alignment with values |
18| Growth | 20% | Skill development |
19
20### Rating Scale
21
22| Rating | Description | % of Team |
23|--------|-------------|-----------|
24| Exceptional | Consistently exceeds | 10-15% |
25| Strong | Meets and often exceeds | 30-40% |
26| Solid | Consistently meets | 35-45% |
27| Developing | Partially meets, improving | 10-15% |
28| Below | Not meeting expectations | 0-5% |
29
30### Performance Review Template
31
32**Self-Assessment:**
331. What were your key accomplishments this period?
342. What challenges did you face?
353. How did you demonstrate company values?
364. What do you want to focus on next period?
37
38**Manager Assessment:**
391. Results vs. expectations
402. Strengths demonstrated
413. Areas for development
424. Rating and rationale
43
44**Development Plan:**
451. Goals for next period
462. Skill development focus
473. Resources needed
484. Support from managerStarting the Workflow#
1# Start team building workflow
2bootspring workflow start business-team
3
4# Generate job description
5bootspring team job create --role "Senior Engineer"
6
7# Create interview guide
8bootspring team interview guide
9
10# Generate offer letter
11bootspring team offer createDeliverables#
A successful Team Building workflow produces:
- Organizational design document
- Role definitions and levels
- Hiring process documentation
- Interview guides and scorecards
- Salary bands and equity guidelines
- Offer letter templates
- Onboarding program
- Performance review system
- Company values documentation
Best Practices#
- Hire slow, fire fast - Take time to find the right people
- Assess for trajectory - Past performance predicts future
- Check references - Always, always check references
- Sell the opportunity - Great candidates have options
- Be transparent - Honest about challenges and opportunities
- Move quickly - Don't lose candidates to slow process
Common Pitfalls#
- Hiring for skills alone (culture matters)
- Rushing to fill roles
- Skipping reference checks
- Inconsistent interviewing
- Unclear expectations
- No onboarding program