Finding a co-founder is one of the most important decisions you will make for your startup. Not only does it influence your equity, but it also determines the success or failure of your company.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
As reported by Crunchbase<\/a>, nearly one-quarter of startups fail due to a poor founding team. Moreover, on average, startups with two founders get 30% more investment and three times the customer growth rate. While there are highly successful businesses with a solo founder\u2014eBay being a notable example\u2014these are in the minority.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n All that said, finding the right co-founder is far from easy. It requires knowledge and experience, but also a high level of intuition. It\u2019s no surprise then that finding the right co-founder is a major challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The good news is that there are steps you can take to ensure you find your perfect match. Here’s what you need to know about finding a co-founder and how it all works.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The first thing you need to do is decide what you\u2019re looking for. Is it someone who shares similar values? Someone with whom you have natural chemistry? Or are you after specific skills or expertise? The answers to these questions will inform your search.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The second step is to understand your options. The key here is building authentic connections, and much like dating, many (if not most) co-founders now meet online. Prior to modern networking apps, some co-founders met from Craigslist to Facebook<\/a>, but today, there are better options.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We\u2019ve all heard of LinkedIn\u2014the world\u2019s largest professional networking site. But that achievement is a double-edged sword. With nearly a billion users, the purpose of LinkedIn has become blurred:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Indeed, one viral Hacker Noon article described LinkedIn as a \u201cpointless world<\/a>.\u201d The big problem is that a co-founder search on LinkedIn would be unfocused, diluted, and get derailed by distractions, as, more often than not, it comes across as just another Facebook or Twitter-style social entertainment platform.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There are other options, namely: Intch<\/a>, a professional networking app that finds win-win connections for you. Using AI, Intch highlights how potential connections are relevant, and by helping them, you gain \u201csocial capital,\u201d which you can use to further build a curated network.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n After finding potential co-founders, it\u2019s time to really analyze the potential relationship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Interviewing is the most effective way to narrow down your search. So what does an ideal interview look like? A good rule of thumb is that it should be fairly spontaneous and introductory calls shouldn\u2019t last very long, since you\u2019ll otherwise end up taking a lot of time from people you\u2019ll never collaborate with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Therefore, you\u2019ll want to focus on getting to know them as much as you can in that short time frame – their background, what they do best and worst, their interests outside of work, and so on – so that you can determine whether you would get along well together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It\u2019s important to figure out a number of things early on, including:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Answering these questions gives you a better idea of whether or not this is the right fit. These are a lot of questions to ask, but it\u2019s important to prioritize and focus on what matters most.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n An equal stake is when both founders each own 50% of the business; there\u2019s no hierarchy or bias towards one founder being \u201cmore important\u201d than another founder, because each founder owns an equal share of the business.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This isn\u2019t always possible though: You might have one founder that wants to hold the role of CEO while one founder wants to take on more responsibilities early on, such as marketing lead and business development lead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In most cases though, it makes sense for both founders to operate with an equal stake so that neither feels like they are carrying more weight than the other founder. For example, if one co-founder was responsible for building out new product lines while another was responsible for customer support and growth marketing channels, then having both founders operate with an equal stake ensures parity across areas of responsibility.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n It also ensures that neither founder feels like they are making all of the important decisions and instead feel valued as equally valuable members of the team.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you can’t find a co-founder, then that’s OK. It’s not the end of the world. You’ll have to figure out how you’re going to run your startup on your own, at least for now.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n After all, the original \u201cspark\u201d for a startup idea usually comes from one person, who sooner or later may share that idea with someone who becomes their co-founder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There are plenty of successful companies that were founded by one founder: Amazon, eBay, Ford, and more<\/a>. Like any other business venture though, building something from scratch requires hard work and dedication from everyone involved-not just one person.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This is a common question for new entrepreneurs, and it\u2019s one that has an obvious answer: find another co-founder. If your current co-founder leaves, then you’ll have to go through the entire process again. This time, though, you won\u2019t be starting from square one.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The good news is that a co-founder quitting isn\u2019t always the end of the road. Famously, both Instagram co-founders<\/a> quit. Today, Instagram is estimated to be worth over $100 billion<\/a>. Meanwhile, the Uber co-founder was removed<\/a>, while Uber is worth around $80 billion today.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n And it\u2019s not always voluntary: Sometimes the board deems it necessary to fire a founder or co-founder, as was the case with Apple and Steve Jobs. Of course, that decision changed, and Apple recently became the first $2 trillion American company<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nHow do I find my co-founder?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Interviewing<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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What does it mean to be an equal partner?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
What if I can’t find a co-founder?\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
What if my co-founder quits?\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Takeaways<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n