The Power of the Partnership, Why Your Startup Needs a Co-Founder
Over the years I have worked in a number of different startups and side-projects, either as one of the founding members or having gone solo.
Without getting into the detail of the successes and the failures (there have been both), what I have realised along the way is how difficult these endeavours have been without a partner of equal standing and similar levels of personal interest. I wouldn’t say any of the failures were as a direct result of not having a co-founder, there were many others reasons at play: product-market-fit, funding, execution, etc. It was however clear that the chances of succeeding would have greatly increased had there been someone at the helm with me.
I have therefore deduced from these past experiences, almost without exception, that you should have a co-founder by your side when building your next startup. By comparing and contrasting my different experiences, I’ve come up with a few examples of why this is indeed a very good idea.
Bring Balance to the Team
A co-founder will bring additional skills to the table and help plug the many gaps that exist when starting out. Ideally your co-founder should have a different set of skills and persona to you. This will enable a really effective partnership and provide greater coverage across the different aspects of your new endeavour. Where you may be good at Finance and Marketing, for example, your partner may have skills and expertise in Technology and Business Processes.
Two Heads Are Better Than One ( 1 + 1 = 3)
Someone to bounce your ideas off of and help make critical decisions cannot be underestimated. Don’t have it all on your shoulders if you can help it. You’ll solve more problems, be more insightful and produce better plans.
It’s well documented that leaders have blind spots, caused by an infinite number of variables such as your particular demographics, circumstances growing up, the people that shaped your personally and professionally: parents, teachers, employers, etc.
You can negate the effects of these blind spots with a good critical-thinking partner, someone who can bring another perspective to the discussion.
Moral Support & Motivation
One thing you can be certain of, you will have bad days, probably more frequent and turbulent than you would have planned for when you embarked on this journey. Sometimes those bad days can come and go and sometimes they can hang around longer than you would wish for. Either way, having a partner to pick you up and provide you with that much needed motivation is key.
You will feed off on one another and give each other the support and motivation to carry on when you sometimes you don’t feel that you can.
Getting Things Done
With an additional Co-Founder it only makes sense that you can accomplish so much more with the extra pair of hands. Be careful not to double-up on tasks, you can easily fall into the trap of working together as pairs and not making the most of each other’s time.
Divide and conquer the work to achieve so much more.
Taking a Break
Your co-founder should always have your back. Having someone at the helm with you with a similar vested interest as you makes it possible to take time off once in a while. It’s important to get away, take a break and refresh your mind. It will be even more effective should you be able to fully take your mind off work knowing that the business is in good hands.
The business can never stop running but sometimes you just have to.
Attract Potential Investor’s
Potential investor’s will look favourably on your union. Having a co-founder will spread an Investor’s risk and go a long way to alleviate any concerns around key-man dependency. They will know that their investment ensures a “two for the price of one” price-tag. A savvy investor will have sight of the reasons I’ve listed above and you will be one-step closer to securing the deal.
Investing in the leadership is just as important as investing in the product and/or service.
Business is hard, establishing a startup even harder. There are a million and one things against you. Don’t try go it alone if you can possibly help it. The right person however is so important. Choosing a partner for the sake of having one, without similar values, work ethic and vision, will only make it the mission so much harder.
In conclusion, if you asking yourself whether you need a co-founder and the answer is yes. It will certainly only be yes if that person is the right fit and is able to create the synergies together with you, taking your startup to the next level and beyond.
What do you think of this list, are there other important benefits I haven’t included? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
