What I wish I knew before choosing a business partner
In business, you can’t do it all alone. Well, neither in life, but to each their own.
So you need partners. Partners are the people who help you grow your business, either by offering something you don’t have or by helping you do what you do better. A good partnership takes time to nurture. It’s not something you enter into lightly and it’s definitely not something you should enter into without doing your homework.
For us, the blockchain sphere is super exciting, though pretty intricate.
There are loads of people who want to get involved with cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects, especially if they see an opportunity to make money. A lot of people who want easy money get into this business for all the wrong reasons. Ethically speaking.
It’s not uncommon to find people who have no background in coding or software development but think they can launch their own token just because they’ve seen others do it. And that can work…sometimes. But launching a token is a complex process with many moving parts. You need to have and give real value, not just carefully curated ideas. You’d be surprised with how many actually do that.
You need also to continually improve your offering and add new features/services over time. A good idea is not enough. You also need the right team and experience to make it happen. This is why so many startups fail within their first year — they lack the know-how needed to get their product off the ground quickly enough in order to succeed before running out of money.
You know it, even the most brilliant idea won’t succeed without the right partners by your side. But… not all partners are created equal, and their intentions might be questionable. It’s not just about finding someone who can help you with your product or service. It’s also about finding someone who shares your values and has the same goals because they will be working as hard as you to grow your company.
If you don’t have that kind of partner, you’re going to have a hard time making things happen, especially in today’s economic climate when so many people are struggling just to keep their heads above water.
Good partners don’t just come along when you’re ready for them; you have to work at finding them. Bummer. You should always be looking for ways to connect with people who share your interests and values and might be able to help out later on down the road when things get tough. That way, if things go south with one partner, there will be another one waiting in the wings ready to step up and help out.
The other way around is that bad “partners” can kill your progress or the status quo of your brand identity. It can be their brand associations, their values and what they stand for, or the empirical evidence of the quality of their past partnerships. So don’t rush it, take time to research thoroughly and engage with potential ones in a more than platonic conversation, before committing any money or resources. Look into their past projects, team members, and advisors — what have they done in the past? What connections do they have? Do they have any competitors who could potentially sabotage their efforts? Who else has invested in them? What is their current status (are they just starting out or close to launch)? How much funding have they received so far (if any)? Will they be able to deliver what they promise?
The core lesson is this: finding the right partners for your business is critical. No matter how expert you are in your own particular field, you are liable to find yourself lacking in at least one other area that is absolutely vital to the success of your business. “The better the devil you know, the easier it is to do business with him.”
Daniel Tamas is the CEO and co-founder of WAM app, the world’s first hyper-casual gaming platform and internationally validated play-to-earn social gaming platform, reaching 1st place in the Top Charts of the App Stores. He’s also an entrepreneur, investor and founder of various companies, but most importantly a Frenchie lover and a hot sauce enthusiast
