Founders Pie Tool
The Founders Pie tool is reproduced from Frank Demmler, Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship.
It provides a methodical approach not only to division of equity in for profit enterprises, but also a useful guide for not for profit enterprise founders to figure out which roles they need in their team and the commitment required per individual in these roles. As the majority of new ventures fail due to weaknesses or challenges in the founding team, this tool helps avoid these pitfalls up front by assessing needs before time and money are spent.
Founders Pie looks at weightings of roles and skills (on a 0-10 rating basis) across a number of key areas:
- Idea
- Business Plan
- Domain Expertise
- Commitment and Risk
- Responsibilities
We recommend using this as one of several inputs into building a strategic team. Another approach we highly recommend before setting out is looking at the complimentary fit of founding team members from a personal and skills point of view. The Belbin Team Roles Test is a fantastic tool for this.
