Research has shown that for startups involving multiple cofounders, 66% of the failed startups have confounder conflict cited as one of the contributing factors. Wow, imagine having a startup fail due to cofounders arguing. What a simple problem to solve it seems, and yet, more consideration must be taken before choosing one. In many ways, it is like choosing a future spouse since you both are likely going to be in it for the long haul. Hence forth the common verbiage of advice along the lines of “don’t mix business or money with friends and family” in this case, actually happens to be true the vast majority of the time. Very few people are capable of having a good business relationship with cofounder(s), here is a small list of factors to consider.

Check the business partners family before partnering up. Live with them to see what it’s like to live with them everyday. This could even be short term even as simple as a one week vacation; this will show whether you can engage in discussion, disagreement resolution.

-12 key points before choosing a business partner

-1; non-negotiables; what are your dealbreakers that you will not consider in any circumstance? That is, something that the moment you see, even if they have everything else you want, you still would not partner with them? Consequently, these should be legitimate dealbreakers that would lead to automatic dismissal. One such dealbreaker could be someone who has questionable character; e.g. someone willing to rip someone else off to make a profit.

-2; common long-term vision; if one person wants to go west and the other east, this is not going to work. The overall direction should be pointed in a similar direction. Be flexible on the details, but more stubborn on the vision.

-3; values; Only do business with people who believe what you believe, it makes the ride so much smoother. Avoid those who don’t believe what you believe. If you have to start off on a negative note where you have to convince them, it won’t work, it has to come in on a positive note. Visions should be written in pen as although they may be worked on as time progresses, they are mostly fixed and hard to dramatically change.

-4; opposing strengths; two people of complimentary natures are better suited to be together. If both people are organized and neither are creative and flexible, then this can lead to glaring weaknesses that won’t be noticed until it is too late. Having your weaknesses covered by others on your team solves a lot of problems from having to outsource further.

-5; clear roles; who is doing what exactly? Not having defined roles can lead to arguments about perceived laziness or over responsibility from one side over the other, which could lead to fights about earnings and equity.

-6; who gets credit? One needs someone who gives credit, not someone who keeps taking it. Avoid takers. I would go so far to say that if someone does something good, even if credit isn’t taken, if credit isn’t given or even acknowledgment, that could also pose issues of not having a team mentality in trying to support those around them. Someone who is focused on making others better and growing the pie, rather than stealing from the pie, makes for a more affable person to work with long term. Many of the geniuses are exceptional people but difficult to work with; long term, it’s hard for anyone to remain long term. Many of the stories of the world-famous entrepreneurs have shown this to be the case.

-7; financial status; this could show the person’s level of commitment to the business. Are they all in? Is this just a nice to succeed business, or a must succeed business? Are they beyond broke?

-8; purpose. Who genuinely means it and someone who just says it. Have multiple meetings to see if it’s all about the money. Without the true intrinsic purpose, it’s unlikely that the person will continue to be interested in the long haul. Many businesses that succeeded ended up with the entrepreneurs treating the business as their primary purpose in life, and willing to do anything to make it succeed. If you have nothing to die for, then you have nothing to live for. It may be extreme to stake one’s life on a business, but the sense of purpose at that point would be undeniable to the business.

-9; schedule; what is their schedule is like? What they do determines who they are. If someone prior to the business idea is indulging in various cheap dopamine activities based primarily for pleasure, what makes that person capable of having the discipline, energy and resilience to succeed in a something as difficult as a startup? The person who is already productive with their time, has advanced in their job, is responsible, reading, having behaviors that better themselves and those around them, well they are setting themselves up as becoming the type of person to succeed in a business to begin with.

-10; partner up; they say marry up? How about partner up. If someone thinks, “without me nothing happens” that’s bad. Avoid the egocentric types where the business depends on them. In the long term, a successful business doesn’t require the input of the founders anymore and can run on its own as a system set in place that can free the owners due to efficiency and success.

-11; track record. The corporate world uses resumes to hire people. While very shallow to judge someone based just on a piece of paper, this resume-based approach tells you the facts about the person. If someone’s track record is to get fired from jobs or quit projects when the going gets tough, are they going to succeed in a business? What are they going to do when something doesn’t go their way? What other people who actually know that person, what would they say about that person? If you ask other people about that person, and they give a common answer, those answers may not necessarily be 100% correct, as they are just opinions. But they may give you some indication of what the person may be like, with qualities or characteristics that was overlooked or missed to begin with. It’s not good enough to ask them what they think others say about them; that involves a personal skew and blinders put on, which we all do.

-12; meet the family

Are they in it for you or only the money? If they are only in it for the money, if things aren’t going well, they go very badly. If they are in it for you, even if it’s going badly, it will still be going ok. What kind of relationship they have with their family of origin and existing family can tell you about what kind of relationship they will have with you in a business.

Disclaimer

This is not Financial Advice. This article is meant only for educational and perhaps entertainment purposes.