The first several months of LaunchWell have been invigorating both professionally and personally. We have been blown away by the response and feel extremely honored to have a strong set of early clients step forward because they want to do better by their teams, investors, and themselves. We started LaunchWell because we feel passionate about Building Great Teams and wanted to offer a user first, cost-efficient, and evergreen option to leaders who are building exceptional organizations.
Why Build Great Teams
The Why to building great teams matters because hiring and building great teams is not easy. If it were, every company would have A-players who operate together seamlessly. As any seasoned manager knows, that’s rarely the case. Given the time, cost, and energy involved, it’s reasonable to feel that relentlessly pursuing a great team is unreasonable. As Will Guidara, who alongside Daniel Humm, led Eleven Madison Park in New York City to become the top-rated restaurant in the world, wrote in Unreasonable Hospitality: “…the best way to respect and reward the A-players on your team is to surround them with other A-players. This is how you attract more A-players. And it means you must invest as much energy into hiring as you expect the team to invest in their jobs. You cannot expect someone to keep giving all of themselves if you put someone alongside them who isn’t willing to do the same.”*
From a lifelong restaurateur, in an industry infamous for churn-and-burn, this mindset is radical, and one reason Eleven Madison Park has been so successful. We have heard the same sentiment echoed time and again: from junior analysts relieved when a low performer leaves, to executives energized when a high achiever joins “to raise the bar.”
How to Build Great Teams
At LaunchWell, we’ve been fortunate to work with leaders who generally don’t question the Why of A-player teams. For time-starved founders, executives, and investors who already understand the Why, the real challenge becomes the How. For companies with 10, 100, or 300+ employees that aspire to grow, or need to build capabilities to scale to the next frontier, we often hear a familiar story: an HR generalist, or another strong team member from legal, finance, or operations, is asked to take on “all of the People stuff.” Quickly, they’re consumed by fires of the day and “keep-the-lights-on” work, leaving little space for the strategic work of the People function. LaunchWell is there to meet leaders where they are, to understand their culture and context, and help build strong systems, processes, and talent foundations that enable strategic growth with confidence. We feel fortunate to have had the ability to already exercise the How at a variety of firms including fast-growth venture backed tech companies, sizeable private equity sponsored carve-outs, and international non-profits facing existential pivots.
What’s Next
Building Great Teams is Unreasonable though it yields exceptional results for leaders who are willing to put in the effort. A sincere thank you to those who have already entrusted LaunchWell to provide the How to help build great teams, attract A-player talent, and install processes and systems to attract, retain, and reward performance.
Thank you for taking the time to read, consider, and reflect on Why Great Teams Matter. We hope it has offered you some benefit. As always, we’re excited to hear from you, so please reply directly with thoughts, insights, and feedback as we embark on this journey together.
Article by Tony Giberti
Tony leads operations and client growth at LaunchWell, helping companies scale with the right systems, structure, and long-term vision. With a background in corporate strategy, startup leadership, and military service, he works with founders and executive teams to turn momentum into enduring growth.
