Startup Series: Do I need a co-founder?

By Shefaly Yogendra Those who read my last column may have noted my ambivalence towards the “previously successful business model applied to a different market” line of thinking. That holds good for start-ups as well as people. I am not interested in people’s role models. I do pose one question to the founders who come to me for advice: “What things are you definitely not good at?”. It is an uncommon but essential way of bringing self awareness to the journey the founder is about to begin. Most founders giggle then start with low impact observations such as “I eat as soon as food appears; Instagramming food is definitely not for me”. Soon enough, other things emerge: “I am not really good at cold calling,” “I lose track of money easily,” “I cannot face telling people they are messing up at their job,” “My coding skills are limited to the front end, but the product I envisage needs full stack development capabilities.” Here is the visceral realisation of John Donne’s oft-cited line “no man is an island”. No founder is an island either. Her success in realising her dream relies on many skills and many people. Wisdom and experience tell us that one needs a team. The team would ideally consist of people, whose skills and experience complement those of the founder. But could these people be co-founders? Becoming a co-founder is about believing in and committing to the idea, as much as the first founder does. It means being able to face up to staking one’s reputation on an idea that one did not think of, but is convinced enough to join in and make into a success. It is about committing one’s skills, networks and work ethic to building the venture. Being a co-founder requires one to champion the venture at all opportunities, to the exclusion of everything else. It may often also need one to do all of this while earning no more than sweat equity and not getting paid much or at all, till either there is enough traction or till external investment is raised. But do these people need to be your co-founders? Arguably, yes. Not because you need them but because while solopreneurs are successful in raising capital and making profitable exists, venture capitalists and accelerators do not often take a chance on them. It makes sense. There are exceptions. If you are creating an e-commerce platform or setting up a marketplace, you could use an off the shelf stable technology solution with support services for implementation bought in from the platform provider, while you focus on customer and supplier development. Over time you may find yourself doing too much work and feel the need for support and help especially in areas of work which are your weaknesses. These may or may not be co-founders. So where does one find co-founders? When first teaching undergraduates in India in 2012, I wanted them to work in teams, an idea not encouraged in academic settings often enough. Culturally too, the vision of a lone ranger is seductive to young people. I started by asking them about the start-ups and entrepreneurs they admired. The usual suspects including Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Flipkart and so on were mentioned. I then asked them to name the founders. Suddenly the penny dropped: the realisation that none of those was a lone ranger narrative or a solo success. Naturally they wanted to know where they might find these co-founders. “Look around you”, I said, “Your potential collaborators, co-conspirators and future partners-in-crime are in this classroom with you.” It is not clear the suggestion was believed completely. Fast forward a few years and some of them are building their ventures together. It is not always so simple, of course. In the wider world, start by telling everyone you are seeking a co-founder. Share in entrepreneurs’ communities. Build your venture’s profile on AngelList and post a job seeking a co-founder with an outline of skills you seek. Evangelise your company and briefly pitch to everyone you meet. Hustle, hustle, hustle. When you find your co-founders, hold on to them. They are now the joint custodians of your vision. They will shape, along with you, the future success — or failure —of your venture. As the founder, you must commit to rewarding them fairly and meaningfully, to sharing information good and bad with them, to resolving disagreements quickly and keeping the wellbeing of the venture in mind. These are not unlike requirements scripted in wedding vows. Not only will you co-founders build your venture with you, they will also witness the journey. More importantly they will be the people you clink glasses of champagne with, when you all succeed in creating something meaningful and lasting out of a mere dream. The author is a decision-making specialist, and advises founders and CEOs on technology, risk, branding and talent. She can be found on Twitter: @Shefaly.