Made in Heaven: Finding your co-founder

Y'all remember that show "Made in Heaven", where these two co-founders of a wedding planning company showcase how various couples end up together and a few don't?

No, I'm not going to share any "learnings" from that show as I just watched it for the drama, but just want to emphasise the fact that finding a co-founder is like finding a spouse as well.

Yeah, I know, that it might sound extreme, but in reality, I don't think it's that far!

Building a startup isn't an easy thing to do in the first place. It requires a combination of various skills that are rare for just one person to have. More than that, I also feel that building a company can sometimes be a lonely journey, and there might be a lot of people there to share the "ups" with, however, at times there might be nobody to share the "downs" with.

So, if it's such a big thing - I mean we just compared it to marriage - and spoke about the emotional roller coaster that building a startup can bring, let's get straight into it.

Firstly, do you need to have a co-founder?

Honestly, you don't "need" to have a co-founder. Is it good if you have a co-founder, yeah, in most cases it is! But if you're a solo rider and/or couldn't find a co-founder or never felt the need to have a co-founder, then you're good!

However, as I mentioned above, building a company is a tough job and it's natural there will be many parts in your journey early that might be outside your realm of understanding. So if you're able to plug those via hiring good talent, then you might actually be good!

What should you look for in a co-founder?

PS: Even investors look for this while evaluating a company.

Yin and Yang of working together

Compatibility is probably one of the most important aspects of a marriage and so is in the case of a co-founder. You're technically looking for a long-term relationship with someone who shares the same vision as you do.

Given that you'd be spending more time with your co-founder, probably even more than (at times) with your spouse, it's essential to have a deep understanding of the working styles, ethics, values and how people react in stressful situations.

Now, having this deep understanding isn't possible from day 0, hence, probably the best approach here is to have a co-founder with whom you've already worked or studied in the past, where the two (or more) of you have had the opportunity to go through the Yins and Yangs of working together.

Similar yet different

Even in our day-to-day life, it's pretty natural for us to be around people who are similar to us. Similar in terms of intelligence, work experience, energy, communication etc

So your co-founder must be similar to you when it comes to this, however, at the same time, you need someone who is also really complimentary.

Imagine you and your co-founder are both great at the same thing. Let's take an example. You're building a tech startup and both you and your co-founder come from a business background. Do you think that the tech aspect of the startup would have a gap? Of course, it would!

Hence, finding this balance is pretty critical in finding your co-founder

Trust

I don't think I need to explain this one.

Where to find a co-founder and how to go about it?

Tell people you're building something

You're never getting anywhere in your search of finding a co-founder if you don't announce it to your network (even if it's a close one)

So you need to get out there and speak to as many people as you know till you find your perfect match.

Of course, this isn't the case when you and your colleague came up with the idea while working/studying together

Find someone with equitable risk

As we all know building a startup is risky in the first place. But imagine your co-founder has multiple gigs running on the side and this is just one of the projects that they are taking up. Do you think the risk of failing the startup would be equal? For all your co-founders, it needs to be a position where they either go big or go home!

Speak to other founders

Okay, so let's imagine that you weren't able to find a co-founder through your own network, what do you do then?

Obviously, then you'd try and expand your search. The best place in my opinion is by speaking to other founders and asking them for connections to folks that they know.

I feel that experienced founders are probably the most attractive people towards whom new/ideating entrepreneurs gravitate, because either they have worked with them in the past or have spoken to them to get industry insights. So it's natural that they might know a few folks who they think might be a good fit to chat with.

Reference checks

You might think this is a pretty VC thing to do, however, imagine you found someone who you think is a perfect match however you met them on an online platform such as Twitter (now X) or LinkedIn

It's very unlikely that you would have any background on them, so what do you do then?

Probably a good place to start is by speaking to their previous manager, but if you ask me, the best place to start is by speaking with people who they managed. This would just reflect on how they are as a leader and whether would people want to work with them in the future.

Meet your co-founder's family

Many folks might disregard this tbh, cause they probably feel that building a company is just about work. But it isn't. Just as marriage isn't just about two people, so is that with your co-founder.

By meeting your co-founder's family, you'd probably learn much more about them, their background, and how their way of life is to be a fit for your journey of building a startup.

As I mentioned in my last post about hiring, there isn't a clearly defined playbook or checklist for you to find your co-founder but these are just a few things that I would consider.

Other BFF Banter;

1. How to deliver an impactful pitch
2. The Artisanal Chocolate Revolution

“It’s better to have no cofounder than to have a bad cofounder, but it’s still bad to be a solo founder.”

- Sam Altman