Setting a strong foundation for your startup involves assessing your business model, the core members of your team, and most importantly, who your co-founder is going to be. The right person who can help run your company can help determine the direction you will take in the future as a company and will play an integral role in making and executing key decisions. Let us look at some of the important aspects that you can consider when onboarding a co-founder.
1. Determining the need:
Walking together on a journey with someone who understands the company as well as you do can help you reach the destination faster. Assessing whether you need a co-founder or not is an important decision to make in the early days. There are two sides to this, but a sure pro is impressing the investors, who usually shy from investing in companies with solo founders. With that said, let us also remind you that success is not determined by that alone.
2. How can a co-founder help fast-track developments and drive meaningful results?
As simple as it can be: You’d have someone to share everything with. Someone to share your goals with can help speed-track processes and share responsibilities. And there are so many of them. So much so that sometimes you just lose track of. Having a co-founder and help streamline this and so much more. Mutual support and understanding can go a long way in overcoming challenges and ensuring that everything is in place during pivots. You’d always have an honest second opinion in hand.
3. The flip side:
Heard of the quote? :
“ 1 bad apple spoils the bunch.”
It’s almost like that. If you have the wrong person, sailing the ship with you. You will definitely be stuck in a storm. Therefore, it is vital to spend time in understanding and forming common goals with your potential co-founder. Assess your beliefs and then decide since the wrong fit can be detrimental to the company’s growth.
4. What are some of the criterias that you can look out for?
Here is what we think is universally acceptable.
Someone who can take feedback well, and who is unapologetic at giving it as well. Someone with a strong emotional quotient can take setbacks in stride and motivate the team towards the future. We all know one requires a lot of energy and strength to run a startup. So someone who has the real zeal to do it! Finally, someone who compliments you perfectly can ensure an ideal balance and bring many more skills to the plate.
When deciding to onboarding someone as the co-founder of your startup, consider drawing a parallel between the company’s goals and the individual’s objectives. Similar beliefs and the strong motivation to become a changemaker can help your organization make quick progress. Eventually leading to smarter decisions to arrive at the pinnacle of success.
