Life of a Start Up #2 - Co-founders

Peeps,

Welcome to the 2^nd post in our #lifeofastartup blog, where we chronicle the life of our dearest darling baby/start-up, Crowd Jockey.

In summary, we are going to cover what you would need to consider when partnering with a co-founder for your business.

There are a number of benefits to having a co-founder, none more important than having someone to bounce ideas off and to share a growing business’ stresses, strains and successes (the 3Ss – this stuff is golden…I should probably copyright it).

In addition to the benefits, there are a number of costs. There are plenty of sad stories out there of co-founders and business partners falling out or screwing each other over and I just hope that none of you guys have to experience that.

One of the key things that I rely on when finding a co-founder is instinct. I rely on my (ample) gut to tell me whether the person I am about to work with will be reliable and will shed blood, sweat and tears in an effort to advance our start-up. For me, if I don’t ‘click’ with the person, the likelihood of us forming an effective partnership minimises greatly. Using this primitive filter, I actually may have missed out on some quality individuals but I am yet to regret the decisions I have made *touches wood*.

A large number of people are keen to avoid conflict. Through the number of personality type indicator tests I have heard about, I have found that these lovely people have management styles that are focused on harmony. I have found that this approach makes the working environment favourable but, in my opinion, the approach isn’t constructive for the long-term success of your start-up. I believe that a co-founder should have the courage to challenge every decision made by the company. This way, you are encouraged to assess a larger number of possible outcomes before pulling the trigger on an important decision.

Finally, this goes without saying, but try and find a co-founder whose strengths are your weaknesses. Using Crowd Jockey as an example, two of us are working towards chartered qualifications in accounting and tax, one of us is passionate about marketing (both traditional and digital) and last but not least, our CTO and fellow founder can code in his sleep. Overall, we have a great balance of skills and can utilise our expertise in growing our baby. Damn! I mean start-up :).


Adios Amigos.