Who do we need on our start-up team?

According to The Beermat Entrepreneur (by Mike Southon and Chris West)

Five is a magic number:

There's a reason for this. Two people are a marriage. Three people are a marriage plus an outsider. Four people are two marriages. Groups of four often split into two feuding individuals watched by two passive ones (eg The Beatles onece they had cut themselves adrift from Sir George). Five just seems to be the number that works. It's big enough enough for flexibility, for grouping and regrouping of individuals round different ideas at different times. It's too small for cliques to form within it. And it's odd, so a majority vote can always be taken.

What should the five-person team look like? My ideal line-up is:

The Entrepreneur:

The person with the vision and the charisma. The boss

The Technical Innovator:

The brains behind the product. 'Supernerd', the future Technical Director / Chief Technical Officer

The Delivery Specialist:

Also a techician, but in the very different area of 'delivery'. The future Operations Officer / Chief Operating Officer

The Sales specialist:

No revenue, no business!

The Financier:

Not expert at flashy high finance, but at cash management, cost control and managing relationships with capital providers and other professionals

The Entrepreneur's job is to keep the flame of the business' vision ablaze, both internally and and when presenting the company to outsiders; to the media and to potential customers.

The Beermat Entrepreneur, 2005, p28-30