Successful startups depend on many factors such as market needs, financing, viable business models and marketing. However, finding the right team, especially the right co-founders or co-founders, is an important first step. Of failed startups, 23% said the lack of the right team was the cause of their failure. Having two founders on a team rather than just one greatly increases the chances of a startup’s success. According to Startup Genome, startups raise up to 30% more up-front capital, grow customers 3x faster, and are less likely to scale too quickly. It is clear that two fully nested founders are greater than the sum of their respective parts.
Finding a co-founder can be tricky. However, there are many resources available to entrepreneurs to help them find people with the skills they need to run a business. Here are some tips on what co-founders need and where to look. Startups are more successful when they have two well-rounded partners. Many founders make the mistake of finding co-founders just like them instead of looking for someone with additional skills. Ideally, startups should have a mix of skill sets. For example, a company shouldn’t have two people who are tech-centric and don’t understand the business or marketing aspects of starting a startup. Make sure one co-founder is tech-focused and the other co-founder has the business acumen to complement the other. Just as startups need to mix skill sets, so do personality traits. For example, two people who are afraid of public speaking are not good for startups because they have to give presentations in front of investors, speak in front of clients, in front of accelerators, and so on. If one co-founder is shy, it’s better to have another person who speaks more outgoing and confident in front of people. Each strength of the co-founders supports each other. In addition to balancing personality traits, it is also important for founders to find a partner they can trust. Running a business offers many opportunities for people to do dishonest things. A co-founder may act in a way that causes others to question the company’s ethics or causes irreparable harm to the company. It’s important to remember when looking for a co-founder, and it’s important to find someone you can trust to take responsibility for.
While there are personality traits a founder should look for in a co-founder, there are certain characteristics that a startup should never tolerate or avoid. One of these traits is controlling behaviour. Avoid people who abuse their roles to exercise control. Whether making decisions without the consent of other team members or using manipulation, this type of person will do everything he can to do it his own way, and that’s not how companies run.
Startups should also avoid finding co-founders who are overly concerned with pleasing others. This often results in the person not expressing their concerns or avoiding arguments that could be detrimental to the success of the startup.