AUTHOR
WEEKLY DIGEST:
Part of the answer was provided by Michael Seibel a Partner at Y Combinator while doing an AMA session with a group of entrepreneurs.
Hello There!
My best friend and I started and ran a club in college, and it was a resounding success. Our skills are complementary, and we're both very driven and entrepreneurial, having each run our own side projects.
However, our underlying friendship suffers when we disagree about product and company decisions, as we're both very stubborn and hardheaded. In college, this led to a lot of painful compromising but resulted in a fantastic club that truly represented both of our strengths. It also broke up our friendship for a while.
Today we're on good terms again, and our friendship is stronger than ever – and we want to start a startup together, and we have lots of ideas. But I worry about the repercussions .
How do you manage to be best friends and co-founders? How do you separate the personal from the professional? We're finding that we're not very good at it.
--Almost Founder
Answer
Dear Almost Founder,
This is a great question. In my first company, we definitely had this problem, and it took many years to figure out a solution. In fact – I'm not sure if we ever did. Only after working on my second startup did I realize the answer.
Expectations (Most Important)
You need to divide responsibilities.
You have to agree on upfront on which parts of the company you will be working on, and which your friend/co-founder will be working on. Most importantly, you have to be comfortable with that person getting the final say in those areas. Even harder, you have to be comfortable with that person deciding how those decisions will be implemented.
Once each of you feels like you have an area that you manage, you will feel more comfortable accepting feedback – and more careful in giving it. You will also work hard to make sure that the parts of the company you're in charge of are succeeding because it will be clear where the responsibility lies if they don't.
At my second startup this is how we divided responsibilities:
Founder 1: Website, database, analytics, and Android
Founder 2: Video, technical recruiting, and iOS
Founder 3: Product, press, fundraising, and biz dev
On the personal side – it will still get very tough sometimes, as you have already experienced. Just remember, never take that action or say that thought that pushes the relationship over the edge and can't be undone.
Understanding Each Other Deeply
In fact, I would argue this is the most important step in the entire process. By having these difficult conversations early on, you will get a front-row seat to see: how your potential partner negotiates, how they express their opinions, what they value, and most importantly, whether they’re someone you’d be happy solving problems with for the next 10 years.
Scan the QR code to follow us so you don't miss upcoming updates
Count on great tips, Free templates, guides, funding opportunities and Grants delivered every week.
Compensation
Vesting schedules
Every startup needs a vesting schedule, and it should be based on performance.
If each co-founder’s ownership percentage vests over four years, however––and if that vesting is contingent upon delivering on certain promises––that not only encourages commitment, but it also protects all parties involved from being held hostage by someone who was gifted an ownership stake.
The Startup Journey could be lonely and uncertain that's why we support our readers with insights, templates, tools guides and information on Grants, Funding and Competitions. Follow us so you don't miss any of these.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elliot Jones
Digital Marketing Expert with deep insight into Growth hacking. He is in charge of Startup Sourcing in Europe and Northen America
ABOUT US
Scan the QR Code to Follow us for weekely startup tips, news, events
Email｜Hello@thestartupcastle.com
START UP CASTLE·
