It’s High Time To Meet Your Perfect Co-Founder

As much as you want to do something great all by yourself and get that feeling of fulfillment when you reach your goals, you are going to need help. Starting a business is not an easy thing to do and it involves more work than you could imagine. You are going to be needed everywhere 24/7, so you need all the help you can get.

No, we are not talking about putting together the whole team for your startup, but about finding that one key person who can offer their full support. Your co-founder.

Being the entrepreneur of a young business will not only be exhausting for you, but there will also be times when the amount of work will be so overwhelming, that you will inevitably feel lonely and, therefore, unhappy. It’s the cold truth.

Why Do You Need Your Other Half In Business?

Think about it this way: a co-founder is a lot like a spouse. You look out one for the other, and you blindly trust each other. They take on responsibilities and you must be able to discuss everything related to your “marriage”.

Finding the right person could take years and years or you could be lucky enough to find it very fast, when you least expect it! Either way, you should prepare yourself for dealing with the excitement and the joy of a moment, as well as with some recurrent waves of disappointment and failure.

To cut things short, there are two main reasons for which you need a co-founder:

1. Making decisions – Do you have any idea how many decisions you will have to take on a daily basis? You may trust your instinct, but how do you know that you are choosing the best option for your business? A co-founder will offer a second opinion, a new and fresh perspective on things. Add in the knowledge on the industry your business is in and you have a winner!
2.  Getting investors – Business people tend to rely a lot on the idea that two minds are better than one. Also, a company which is lead by two people is more likely to reach its targets. So, if you are looking to get funding for your startup and you want to get it fast, start searching for your co-founder right away!

What Should You Look For In Your Co-founder?

Make a list with the things you are good at. Then be honest with yourself and make another list with the things you are not good at. Think about who could successfully manage them.
Before you start the hunt, there are some things to take into consideration:

•  The set of skills and their personality should complement your skills and your personality.
•  Their tasks on a daily basis.
• Will you be able to instill this person with the same passion and dedication you have for the business?

Out of all the things mentioned above, probably the most important one is related to the personality and skills. They are both equally important. Without skills, you cannot run the business, and you can’t do much when personalities don’t match, either. You two will spend most of the time together, so it’s important to get along and communicate clearly and efficiently.

Where To Look For Your Co-founder?

You can start looking for someone in your own network. Unfortunately, most of the times things can go wrong and nothing will come out of that. But don’t worry! There are other ways to get the right co-founder for you.

As incredible as it may sound, the search part is the easiest step of the whole process! Why? You might not know it yet, but Europe’s fastest growing startup community, the StartUs platform, has over 1.000 potential co-founders for you to choose from.

Connected by tons of enthusiasm and strong skills sets, they are all waiting to be a part of something big! All you need to do is to filter your search according to their location, skills, field of activity and the languages they speak. Once you have done that, there is a great chance for someone to catch your eye. Get in contact with them and see how you two get along for a while. You never know how things could work in your favor!

Have You Found Your Co-founder? Now What?

If you are one of those lucky entrepreneurs, who have found their “better half” it is for the best to set some things straight right from the beginning. This way you will avoid any future conflicts that might affect and even deteriorate your relationship with your co-founder.

Here is what you need to establish as soon as possible:

• Titles – Based on your expertise and your tasks define the position of your co-founder in the company, as well as yours.
• Ownership plus equity split – There will come a moment when both you and your co-founder will want a clear split of the ownership, as well as a clear separation of equity shares. Get a lawyer, discuss and negotiate with your business partner.
• Inability to reach a compromise – Take a precaution measure and appoint a third person to talk to if, at some point, you two will not be able to agree on an issue.
• Working hours – Who works more and who works less? At some point, this may become an issue, so it’s important to talk it out as soon as it starts causing disturbances.

If your entrepreneurial spirit starts to kick in at an early age, and you simply cannot resist the temptation of building your own business from scratch, you need to be aware of a few things first. Of course, you will not be able to know everything right from the start and, chances are, you are going to make mistakes. Many mistakes. However, having a co-founder, some to share this experience with will make your entrepreneurial life easier and you might even dodge some bullet here and there!

 

#StartUsFacts

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Photo credit: r.nial.bradshaw via VisualHunt.com / CC BY