What To Look For In A Co-Founder For Your Startup
Growing a business is a team effort i.e effort of the founding members and the employees. Although, it’s the members of the founding team that decides the fate of the company. But choosing the right founding team is not as easy as it seems. Like some people say, choosing the right co-founder is as hard as choosing the right person to marry.
What To Look For In A Co-Founder For Your Startup
Some people think their co-founder should be the one who has skills complementary to theirs. But having complementary skills is not enough to grow a company. Personality, Behaviour, and Vision are also important factors that determine the compatibility of the founder and a co-founder. And, compatibility among the founder and the co-founder plays a major role in deciding the fate of a company.
Below written are the skills that you must look for in a co-founder for your startup.
- Complementary Skills
- Same Vision For The Company
- Respect For Each Other
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Hunger For Learning
1. Complementary Skills
A co-founder should be someone whose skills are complementary to yours. There is no sense in having a co-founder that has the same skills as yours. And having co-founder with different skillset than yours helps you in getting more aspects of your business covered.
For Instance-
- If You are a developer, he/she should be a developer.
- If you are from a marketing background, he/she should have expertise in Tech.
2. Same Vision For The Company
If you want your company to be successful, you and your co-founder must be on the same page. If two people have the same vision, it becomes easier to guide people who are working for you, and it also helps in achieving goals faster. In short, the alignment of vision is necessary.
3. Respect For Each Other
No relation has ever worked where the people involved in it don’t have respect for each other. So, if you have multiple options to choose from, choose the entrepreneur you respect.
And respect for each other prevents friction when there is a difference in opinions.
4. Adaptability and Flexibility
The only thing consistent in the business world is the changing dynamics and those who fail to adapt, fail in business. So if an entrepreneur wants to get success in business, he/she must be willing to adapt to the changing dynamics.
In a nutshell, the co-founder should be flexible and be able to do anything required for the company at any given period.
5. Hunger For Learning
The dynamics of the business world changes fast. And in the startup world, dynamics change faster. Running a startup is a stressful task, and often there will be times when some unforeseen things will happen. So, the best-suited people for startup life are those who want to learn more.
Importance Of A Co-Founder
Having a co-founder increases your chances of getting successful as responsibilities get shared.
Let’s have a look at some other points when having a Co-founder acts as a boon.
1. You Can Make Better Decisions
Multiple members in a founding team increase the chances of making better decisions. Having multiple decision-makers creates an opportunity to discuss the merits and demerits of each viewpoint. This helps in deciding the right direction for the future of the company.
2. You Can Focus On Your Plus Points
Having a co-founder enables you to focus on your plus points. With a co-founder, responsibilities get shared and you can concentrate on the responsibilities given to you.
3. You Can Have Some Day-Offs
Running a startup/ business is not an easy thing to do. It’s quite stressful. Sometimes you have to put in 70-hour workweeks. But if you have a co-founder, you can take a break.
4. Increases Your Chances Of Success
Two is always better than one when it comes to business. When two people are running the business, your network increases, you can manage your employees well, you have someone to trust, etc. And with all these perks, your chance of getting successful increases.
Places Where You Can Find A Co-Founder
“None of us is as smart as all of us.”
Ken Blanchard
As said earlier, growing a business is a team effort, and having a co-founder can benefit your business a lot.
Below Written Are Some Ideal Places Where You Can Find A Co-Founder.
- On LinkedIn
- Startup Meetups
- Social Media
- Online Forums
- In a Family Gathering
1. On Linkedin
If I had only one option, Linkedin would have been that option. On Linkedin, you can choose from multiple experienced professionals, the one who is best suitable as your co-founder. Using Linkedin, you can even know their past working experience without even connecting with them.
2. Startup Meetups
Every Entrepreneur knows the importance of networking, and startup meetups are those networking places. In Startup Meetups, you can talk to people from the startup world, and you can choose from them the best suitable option for the co-founder’s job.
See Indian Startup Meetups/Events here.
3. Social Media
You can be part of several Fb Groups and Instagram Pages related to business, and there you can find some suitable options for the role of Co-Founder.
4. Online Forums
The Internet has enabled us to do things that seemed impossible years ago. By joining relevant online forums, you can have a wide pool of options to choose from, and the majority of these options would be relevant ones.
Some Online Forums/Sites For Entrepreneurs To Find A Co-Founder: StartHawk, Founder2be, Younoodle, FoundersNation, CodeArmy, Lead Candy, Quora, FounderDating, Startups.co, Startup Nation, EntrepreneurFix, Meetup.com, Startup Weekend, CoFoundersLab, etc.
5. In A Family Gathering
Nothing can be a better option than having a family member as your business partner. So, attend some family gatherings, and maybe, you can find some relatives who are also in the business world and have the same interests as you.
Many people have found their business partners on dating sites, in a cafe, in a fair, etc. So, socialize and increase your chances of finding an excellent co-founder.
The StartupLab daily uploads news and articles related to the startup ecosystem in India. So, if you want to know about the Indian Startup Ecosystem, read our articles.