One eventuality that founders usually seem to ignore when they begin companies is the risk of a founding team breaking up during the venture — this is obviously something that can easily kill a company before it can even get off the ground.
The ability for the founding team to get along is absolutely imperative for any new startup. Creating a healthy working relationship can help determine your chances for success, and will also set the cultural tone for whatever your startup eventually becomes.
Founders are usually friends, family, or former colleagues at the very least. Therefore, they usually know each other pretty well. But it’s important to remember that even though you know someone pretty well, it doesn’t mean you know if you work with them very well. Rationalizing that your combined abilities would create a whole larger than the sum of its parts is only possible if you’ve previously worked together under pressure, either at work or in school. Many of my observations in this post depend heavily on this familiarity.
So what’s important to look for in a potential Co-Founder? Here’s a list of qualities that I suggest you look for:
- They don’t bullshit about what they can do
- They get things done when they said they would be done
- They ask for help/input before heading down dead-end streets
- When pitching together, they can pick up the slack if you have a brain cramp in mid-sentence
- They consistently impress you with what they can pull off
- They respect your domain(s) of expertise
- You can make decisions together quickly and without day-long meetings
- They have a similar sense of humour
- They don’t let themselves get too high during wins or too low during defeats
- You don’t hate them or anything they stand for
Bonus: They don’t maintain an unsustainable social-life
Use this list wisely. Obviously, there are probably like a thousand things I could write here, but those are the things I think about when working with that Marrone kid these days. The over-riding things in my mind are trust and respect and good humour. If you have those things in your founding situation, you’re way ahead of the game.
