Alternatives to getting into business with friends, spouse, or relatives when founding a Startup
Most startup people are getting into business with people they know but that is not the best advice in a lot of cases. Entrepreneurs struggle with establishing a strong start-up company because they don’t have the knowledge or bandwidth they require to be successful. That’s why finding a co-founder with the right skills and complimentary experience can be a huge asset.
There are many challenges to finding the right co-founder for your start-up business, but here are some useful tips to keep in mind when the time arrives to begin considering your options.
1. Don’t Choose Someone You Know
A friend, spouse, or relative may have skills that you admire, but getting into business with them is a bad idea because it establishes a bias right from the start. Opt instead for writing a “job description” for your ideal co-founder. List the strengths and weakness of your business and the skills that you would want to balance those out.
2. Network
Networking isn’t only useful in finding investors; it can help narrow down your field and locate a smart professional with a good skill set. Networking involves joining entrepreneurial groups like LinkedIn or by attending conferences and local business organizations.
3. Are You a Non-technical or Technical Founder?
The answer you give to this question has a big say in what sort of co-founder would work best for your industry. Choosing an individual who falls into the opposite group as you could serve to balance out your business and propel you into higher levels of success. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you ought to; selecting a person who has the same approach as you might work better for overall efficiency.
Non-technical founders are individuals who have no prior experience with technological skills, such as writing code, programming, and so on. Though this may seem like a disadvantage, take heart: there are many successful people who started out as non-technical founders. Technical founders, on the other hand, possess certain technological abilities, such as programming.
4. Consider Relocating
Finding a qualified co-founder in the middle of Utah will probably be a bit of a challenge. Don’t spend too much time and energy looking for partners where there probably are none; there’s a reason places like Boston and Silicon Valley are bursting with high-tech start-up industries. Go where the success is and you’re more likely to find the sort of people you would like to do business with.
5. Define Roles Right Away
It’s important to establish who is the boss, and no matter how equal you and your co-founder may be, there must always be someone with a little more power to wield when it comes to making tough calls and decisions.
In Conclusion: Decide What You Want to Accomplish
Every start-up business is going to be different. What is most important is for you to be honest with evaluating your industry’s weaknesses and strengths. This will help you be more objective when it comes time to select a co-founder who will ultimately help you accomplish your business goals.
**And do the Drinktest, before you decide to get on a ride with someone do the Drinktest :).
Everyone will show its true face after some beers **
more articles about #startup #howto #news #entrepreneurship
https://steemit.com/startup/@dragonho/selling-your-startups-product-and-not-your-startups-story-via-public-relation
https://steemit.com/startup/@dragonho/how-to-supercharge-your-networking-as-a-startup-enthusiast
Many appreciated words of wisdom in there, thanks a bunch and namaste :)
you are welcome
Hi there @dragonho and thank you for this interesting post.
"Don't choose someone you know"
I must disagree with this as there's many GOOD examples where choosing someone you know might have more benefits. There are many married couples out there with solid business plans and they work as a team and they're successful. There are also many family businesses - old and new - striving. Strong and good family ties are also good for the work environment and that's people you know.
It's just your belief or someone else's belief you take as "true".
In my post I talk about BELIEFS, how they often limit us and how to change them to make them useful. Come by and leave your feedback or just say hello!
http://steem.link/selfSTEEMbeliefs
Yes, i agree with you if we are talking about a mom and pop shop business.
If we talk about Startup as per definition of Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_company then it's most likely better from my opinion to do otherwise. PS: will check out your article thanks for the contribution.
Before the adventure begins, it is wise to draft up a document stating what will happen if the venture fails. Think of it as a pre-nup for a business. It's a bit of doom and gloom while you are in the honeymoon phase of the business, but it's a lot harder to determine what to do when all parties are upset and losing money.
Examples are:
...
oh yes this are good points, it always depends if it's a venture which is self-financed or something which is financed via a bank or even a VC
Nice article
even if you fail a few times, it only takes one good business to make it.
oh yes but one needs to be able to afford failure as it can come at a high cost not only moneywise.
I think the fundamental aspect of starting a business is where to obtain the startup fund. This is exceptionally crucial as it could make or break a #startup.
good input for an article
Thank you !
[Mistake - Edited]
5. Define Roles Right Away
It’s important to establish who is the boss, and no matter how equal you and your co-founder may be, there must always be someone with a little more power to wield when it comes to making tough calls and decisions.
This is too cut and dry. Instead, it is better to decide who makes which decisions. This way, there's always an expert making them.
Its about the 49% to 51% thing because what you do when both have 50% of the Voting power
And do not choose family to the buisness, It always going wrong and crash family hard - I know it from autopsy :(
Yes as in most cases it seems not to work out but there are the exceptions
Yes as always, In my case it doesnt work