Every unicorn startup begins with a bold vision—but it’s the founding team that turns ideas into reality. The same holds true for family offices. Too often, families focus on assets before people, only to discover that even the most sophisticated investment strategy falters without the right talent executing it.
Building a family office team isn’t about replicating private bank hierarchies or hiring the most expensive advisors. It’s about applying startup principles: assembling a lean, mission-driven group where each member operates like a co-founder—aligned, incentivized, and irreplaceable.
How to Build The ‘Founding Team’
Startups live or die by early hires. The wrong technical co-founder can tank product development; a misaligned sales lead can alienate customers. Family offices face parallel risks:
The “Banker-Only” Trap: Traditional offices stack finance roles but lack specialists for modern needs like impact investing or next-gen education.
Culture Misfires: A star CIO who clashes with family dynamics does more harm than good.
Overhead Overkill: Building a full team too soon burns capital—just like a startup hiring VPs before product-market fit.
The solution? Treat the initial team like a startup’s founding roster: small, versatile, and obsessive about the mission.
The Modern Family Office Org Chart
Bringing the startup mindset to family offices opens a lot of opportunities to when it comes to the org chart. One approach is to apply first principles thinking, a method popular in Silicon Valley start-ups, to redesign the organization. David Chie, founder at Maple Drive, an executive search firm, recently assisted a client in structuring a family office, starting with a technology review, process mapping, and review of the family’s expectations before initiating searches for a full team.
“As more technology founders lead the way in family offices, so will their business practices.” says Chie. “When building a team from scratch, you need to understand the vision and select a founding team that will build a culture and performance in alignment with your needs.” Chie continues.
Traditional Roles (The “Seed Round” Team)
CFO/Controller: The “operational co-founder” managing liquidity, reporting, and compliance.
CIO: The “technical co-founder,” translating investment philosophy into portfolio strategy.
General Counsel: The “regulatory hacker,” ensuring structures protect wealth without stifling growth.
Some Ideas For Newer Roles (The “Series A” Expansion)
Chief Impact Officer: For families blending returns with purpose (philanthropy, climate tech, etc.).
Family Historian/Educator: Codifies legacy and prepares next-gen stewards—akin to a startup’s “culture hire.”
Tech Architect: Implements the digital infrastructure (reporting tools, AI screeners) that replaces bloated admin teams.
The key insight here is that just as startups outsource HR or legal pre-scale, family offices can use fractional executives for niche needs (e.g., a venture partner for tech deals).
The Startup Hiring Playbook for Families
According to Brian Adams, President and Founder of Mack International, “You’ll need an “expert generalist” leading the office who has the knowledge of the full spectrum of disciplines to help successfully accomplish the objectives.” This approach could be an excellent choice before going deeper into other roles.
1. Define The “Product Roadmap” First
Startups don’t hire a CMO before knowing their customer. Similarly, family offices should map required capabilities to their mission (e.g., direct investing needs a deal-sourcing specialist).
With the basics in place, the office can now phase hires just like startups do with funding rounds—outsource early, then internalize as scale justifies it.
“You’d never build a house without hiring an architect. Yet many start hiring before knowing what they’re building,” continues Adams, “Without a clear plan and foundational structure, even great hires will fail.”
2. Interview Like a Founder
When evaluating new talent, take a page from the startup playbook. According to Adams, “The Family Office finds someone they like and trust, but the individual hired does not have the requisite skills and competencies to be successful…” He adds, “Others hire a ‘rock star’ with a perfect CV—but they fail because they’re not the right culture fit.” Some ideas:
Case Studies: Test investment acumen with real portfolio challenges.
Conflict Simulations: “How would you handle a 20% drawdown with anxious family members?”
Values Vetting: Use personality assessments (DISC, StrengthsFinder) to flag culture mismatches.
“When we hire based on instinct, chemistry, or titles, we’re exposing the business to unnecessary risk,” says Kevin Bjerring, Founder and CEO of AtlasPeople. “Especially in high-trust environments like family offices, we need to bring structure, science, and strategic clarity into people decisions.”
3. Incentivise Like a Unicorn
While equity grants are rare, top talent expects upside:
Portfolio Bonuses: Tie compensation to long-term IRR targets.
Phantom Carry: Offer a % of “saved costs” or outperformance fees.
Mission Equity: Align roles with family passions (e.g., impact leads overseeing climate investments).
Pitfalls That Sink Family Offices (And Startups)
Founder Syndrome: Principals who micromanage investments crush team morale—just like startup CEOs who code over engineers.
Legacy Lock-In: Clinging to a 60/40 portfolio manager when the principal has ambitions to become a hands-on direct investor into venture and more.
Confidentiality Overkill: Siloing information like a stealth-mode startup stifles collaboration.
“Most family offices underestimate how much team dynamics impact their returns. The team is often the biggest multiplier—or the biggest risk,” says Bjerring. “Up to 47% of leadership hires fail within two years—not because they lack skills, but because expectations are unclear or the cultural fit is wrong.”
The Takeaway
As risk management is one of the main tasks of the family office, people risk shouldn’t be overlooked. “Most family offices underestimate how much team dynamics impact their returns. The team is often the biggest multiplier or the biggest risk” Bjerring agrees.
And one last thing is grit. Besarta Dani, CEO at Hejmdal stresses this, “Grit and entrepreneurship go hand in hand.” The family office’s success hinges less on the assets held than on the hands managing them. By borrowing startup tactics—hiring for gaps, incentivizing like a VC, and staying ruthlessly lean—the office can build a team that grows wealth and legacy.
Next in the Series: Principle #3—”Tech-enabling The Family Office.” Why the best offices operate like SaaS companies, with scalable systems replacing ad-hoc chaos.