Find the Right Hires for Each Stage of Your Startup From your business partners to full-time staff, here is what to look for at three critical stages of your startup.

It might be a great idea that launches your startup, but don't kid yourself--your company's fate depends on your team. We spoke with serial entrepreneur Naeem Zafar, who teaches entrepreneurship at the University of California, Berkeley, and is co-founder and CEO of enterprise mobility startup Bitzer Mobile, to walk us through the steps you should take to assemble a group that's built for success.

Stage 1

The Founders
The first and perhaps most difficult step is to evaluate your business partner(s). "The quality of people in this phase will define the DNA of the company later," Zafar says.