Goals PR

Many startups fail to raise funds because they don't convince investors that they have a minimum viable team that can grow the business.

You need a minimum viable team to successfully raise funds and grow your business

Experienced founders build a team VCs can bank on using the 3H framework of:

1. Hustler
2. Hacker
3. Hipster

Showing investors that the core founding team possesses ALL the 3H skills of the Hacker, Hustler, and Hipster to successfully launch and grow the business is the key to VC checkbooks.

1. Hustler

The Hustler is the chief salesman who makes sure the business has a steady stream of paying customers.

The Hustler is the go-to businessman who makes sure the company is making money.

As the master of persuasion and negotiation, the Hustler is the one tasked with forming partnerships and getting investors.

Hustler Example:

Victory Farms CEO Joseph Rehmann comes to mind as an example of a Hustler.

Joseph used his frontier markets working experience and background in banking and private equity to cofound Victory Farms and raise more than 40 million dollars from VCs.

He is the extroverted networker with a growth mindset that has used his sales and partnership-building Hustler skills to build Victory Farms into the 15th fastest-growing company in Africa (FT Ranking).

2. Hacker

The Hacker is the technical brains that ensures the actual product works.

The Hacker works on product development and leads in the use of new technology.

The Hacker also champions the use of new business processes to maximize productivity.

The intellectual properties developed by the Hacker form the foundation of your competitive advantage.

The Hacker can be found in both tech and non-tech companies.

An example of a non-tech Hacker is the character Heisenberg in Breaking Bad TV series.

Hacker Example:

Victory Farms' cofounder, Steve Moran, is a great example of a non-tech Hacker.

He has used his aquaculture expertise to develop sustainable large-scale fish farms run by Victory Farms in Lake Victoria and Rwanda’s Lake Kivu.

As the Chief Aquaculture Officer, Steve has led the adoption of cage-farming technologies that produce enough fish to sustain Victory Farms customer demand in Kenya and Rwanda.

3. Hipster

The Hipster is the creative type who lives and breathes user experience and branding identity.

The Hipster is the designer and creative genius who makes sure the final market-ready product and the user interface are cooler than anything else out there.

Hipsters understand the customer better than they understand themselves and use this to ensure products are simple and easy to understand.

The Hipster uses their creativity and good taste as well as copywriting skills to bring innovation and the cool factor that make the product marketable.

Hipster Examples:

The resident Goals PR Hipster is our cofounder, Lilian Wambui. She understands our clients better than anyone else and makes sure our service feel converge with customer expectations.

Further abroad, we have Apple’s Chief Design Officer, Jonny Ivy. Jonny rose to Hipster stardom when he was credited for being the driving force behind the look and feel of Apple products.

The Winning Combination

When the Hipster brings the creative innovation and cool design factor, the Hacker delivers the technical solutions, and the Hustler finds a way to sell it to customers, investors, and partners, your business will be a darling of investors and customers

Successful founders convince investors that the core founding team possesses all skills of the Hacker, Hustler, and Hipster.

Pro Tip: You don’t need exactly three people to form a startup team. The 3H skills can be possessed by one, two, or even more people.