You need a co-founder not a SLAVE

Most of the startups doom due to clashes between co-founders when they realize at a later stage that things are not going smooth between them. With my own experience, I have seen people taking their co-founders for granted and making them uncomfortable at every step they take. This leads to a lot of chaos and ultimately partnership breakups.

Someone has rightly said that there is hardly any difference between maintaining a partnership and a marriage as they both need high level of commitment and hardly any ego. So be careful in choosing the right co-founder and overcome your ego if you want to be successful in your partnership.

1. Over expectations hurt really bad

In my experience, most of the people who call themselves committed to their startups are proud to overdo things like working overtime, over-committing to their clients, over-imagining the things and so on. So they end up over expecting from their co-founders as well and this is where the real problems arise. It’s foolish to ruin someone’s personal life because you start comparing yourself with them.

If I can work for 16 hours a day- why can’t he/she.

2. Respect them like you expect for yourself

If you can’t respect your co-founders and their opinion, probably you are never going to build a good team. Needless to explain that if you hurt someone’s self respect, it might lead you to a really bad situation. Everyone has his/ her highs and lows and sometimes people need to be left alone. You should respect their independence and priorities.

3. Transparency brings Integrity

Being transparent with your co-founders is very important as it builds integrity, trust and positive attitude. No one likes twisted facts/ agendas so it’s your responsibility to show them the clear picture especially when the things are not right and let them decide on the basis of what they see. Always remember that you can not hide a secret for long and it pinches a lot when revealed suddenly.

4. Stop the Blame Game

This is one of the favorite sport which startup co-founders play. When time is not good, it’s quite easy to blame others for whatever is happening but it’s too hard to take the blame yourself. This problem arises from one’s ego and it often eats up great partnerships. In such situations, self control is the only thing which can let you grab hold of the things. It’s important to be calm, analyze the things and then figure out the root cause of the failure. Even if your co-founder is responsible for the loss, you should make sure to not hurt his/ her feelings with your anger burst and convey your message on a positive note.

5. Solve your matters yourself

You must have seen married couples fighting over things and making things worse by involving other people in their fights. Similarly, the co-founders tend to ruin things by involving their friends and families in their fights when they think there is no point talking to each other. I must say that it’s a disastrous approach because when people are involved in your fights, situations may turn worse if you follow bad suggestions. Try to solve your clashes yourself without involving others. Also, if you have a team, try not to argue in front of them as it leaves a very bad impression.

6. Their Career is as Important as yours

If your career is important to you, so must be your partner’s and there is nothing wrong about it. You should be considerate towards your partner’s priorities for his/her own career and life. If you support your co-founder with zeal like you would do for yourself, you will win his/her trust and eventually that will help you grow as well.

With an expectation that you can handle your relationships well with your partner, I wish you all success in your business and life.