To co-founder or ‘not-co-found’. Do you need a business partner?
From one dynamic duo to another Big Uppetite co-founder and serial entrepreneur Jade Spooner shares the benefits of having/not having a co-founder.
To say someone ‘needs’ a business partner is like saying you must have a life partner in order to be happy which is not the case. However with one being neither more superior than the other when you look at ‘single-life’ and being shacked up in a relationship what does that life partner provide? An enhancement to your life and experiences, similarly I also believe partnerships in business have that very same effect - enhancement, added benefit, double man-power.
My last tech-business which I sold and exited was also a partnership and I feel I have reaped the benefits of walking a journey with someone that shares the same vision in two businesses now. When partnerships are strategic it’s when your counterpart has a skillset that is not your strong suit and visa versa. The way I see partnerships in best practice are two brains, one goal. The ability to go faster and harder with a double whammy in brain power, ideas, wearing multiple hats as a start up, growing a team, contingency planning and mitigating risk.
Think about having a mentor, an accountability buddy and a second set of eyes and ears across your workload - this is what I believe is the beneficial side of what a business partner can provide.
With that being said I’m not going to share the good without sharing the side that takes work and consideration in deciding whether a partnership is for you.
Time of life: This needs serious consideration. If you’re starting a business with someone in your youthful early 20s you'll have similarities in common that later may grow apart. Throw money in the mix and the reality is people can change. Having a partnership as the fairly established person you’ve grown to be will alleviate this which is why time of life is an important consideration - will one of you run off and have babies and get married on the other side of starting a business? Are you both mature enough to understand what to do with money and how to handle it personally and professionally? There are many important ‘time of life’ questions to ask before entering a partnership.
Seeing eye to eye: The fact of the matter is that you’ll naturally have different opinions sometimes, this is healthy and normal. However you need to be more on the same page with your co-founder than not, having the same vision before anything and a strategy to decipher managing when you both have a difference of opinion.
Work inequalities: Another consideration of having a co-founder is that you may feel like one of you is working more than the other and puts in more strengths and efforts creating inadequacies. There is no definite way to combat this other than you just really have to be willing to accept that it may be the case. On the one hand, an extra person will certainly bring a lot of value to the business. On the other hand, how can you be sure that your co-founder will be as devoted to your business as you are? Every situation is very individual and everything depends on your personal choice and preferences.
Someone has to be the boss: In the end, someone has to be the boss. Even in a 50/50 partnership there still has to be someone with veto power, this is best done when it’s best fit not because someone has a greater ego.
In my personal opinion I see more co-founder relationships end than I do flourish, but I still believe in them. Values between co-founders are hugely important. Whatever the values of the co-founders, these will eventually be woven into the entire corporate culture. A lack of integrity will almost certainly in any instance be the indifference between co-founders that can sink a company. This political weed is a harvest killer. When lack of integrity is evident beneath the surface of conversations, it is a sign of imminent disaster. Don’t make the mistake of confusing lack of integrity for indifference. Giving others the benefit of the doubt is important but the best way to find fit in a co-founder dodging the potential lack of integrity ball and chain is simply through communication and getting to know your co-founder well enough to establish an immense amount of trust.
So while you don’t need a co-founder I believe in the power of a pair and a lot of the time it makes for favourably investable companies too. The number of founders in a business is only a small determinant of ultimate success. If you're a solo operator, don't go down the path to find a co-founder just for the sake of having a co-founder. At the end of the day, businesses are successful based on the principles of building successful businesses, not on the number of chefs in the kitchen. Be selective but also listen to your intuition on the matter if joining with someone seems like the best fit for you and the business.
