Team: Första och viktigaste delen i en företagsplan man bör beakta. Är man inte ett fungerande team med rätt sammansättning så kommer man fallera på det senare i processen.
John Doerr om teambuilding: "I always turn to the biographies of the team first. For me, it's team, team, team. Others might say, people, people, people -- but I'm most interested in the team as a whole - its mix of experience and personalities, its chemistry." That's the moment of truth. That's when you ask: "Are these the people I want to be in trouble with for the next 5, 10, 15 years of my life?" Because as you build a new business, one thing's for sure: You will get into trouble.." .
Det finns vissa nyckelsituationer teamet måste vara kompetent för: Är man bra på att rekrytera andra talangfulla människor? Är man bra på att sälja in saker? I ett mindre företag har alla säljansvar hela tiden - Särskilt i starten när skillnaden handlar om liv eller död. Det är viktigt att gruppen har sinne för humor, man kommer spendera en hel del tid tillsammans. John Doerr: "Of course, everyone you'll need for a great startup isn't going to be there at that first meeting. Teams always need to grow, to get stronger and better. But be sure to answer the question, "Is this a group I wouldn't mind getting in trouble with?" .

Mixen: John Doerr: "look for a combination of experience, drive, commitment, and passion. You don't want all experience -- but you also don't want all drive, energy, and passion. Getting that mix right is the difference between ventures that achieve greatness and startups that are merely successful, or worse."
En framgångsrik psykometrisk modell som är bra att känna till om man arbetar med rekrytering och team building är den s k "DiSC-modellen".

Management och Ledarskap: De flesta lyckade företagsstarter har en ledare från vilken alla andra triggar sina insatser. Följande egenskaper ser John Doerr efter efter hos en ledare: "Great leaders are great communicators. They have incredible integrity: they're usually the first to recognize problems. They're ruthlessly, absolutely intellectually honest. They are great recruiters: They're always building their network of talented people. And they're great sales executives: They're always selling the value proposition of the enterprise".