Where the analogy breaks down is that Quarterback is a very specific job that millions of people train for from a young age. Despite the uncertainty over how top prospects will pan out in the NFL, and the influence of the supporting cast, etc, there still is a huge amount of objective data to look at about performance over time.
To make a startup succeed you need some very special people. Many brilliant programmers, designers, sales people, executives, etc do not have what it takes to build a successful company. Heck, many people have what it takes to build one successful company, but not another one, or they have what it takes if they are with certain complementing individuals but not others. This is because unlike sports teams, every company is different, and every successful one succeeds in a unique way. The number one criteria for the initial hires should be people who, in addition to whatever concrete skill you need right now, also have a strong ability to feel out this invisible path and separate the 99% chaff of potentially promising tasks from the 1% that actually get you closer to a viable business.
To make a startup succeed you need some very special people. Many brilliant programmers, designers, sales people, executives, etc do not have what it takes to build a successful company. Heck, many people have what it takes to build one successful company, but not another one, or they have what it takes if they are with certain complementing individuals but not others. This is because unlike sports teams, every company is different, and every successful one succeeds in a unique way. The number one criteria for the initial hires should be people who, in addition to whatever concrete skill you need right now, also have a strong ability to feel out this invisible path and separate the 99% chaff of potentially promising tasks from the 1% that actually get you closer to a viable business.
Now how do you filter for that? Hell if I know.