• How-to

Sometimes two heads are better than one, especially when you are running a business. You may have a great idea but it’s only natural for you to carry domain knowledge and expertise in a few areas and not others. A co-founder can fill in these gaps, provided you’ve used the correct metrics to choose one.

Who and where
Peers in your professional network or school and college alumni are the best places to look for a co-founder as opposed to friends and families. The latter share too emotional a bond, and can create problems for other employees who join in as the company grows. Most startups form when college buddies or ex-colleagues, with a shared dream, get together to achieve the same. Remember, you need to have a co-founder whom you can trust blindly.

Look for complementary skills
Think of it as Yin and Yang! Your co-founder should have skills and strengths complementary to yours. If you have the madness, let your-co-founder bring in method. For instance, in a tech startup, if you are a techie with domain knowledge on product development/writing software codes, it would help if your co-founder has business acumen to take the product to market. His/her marketing, HR and financial knowledge will complement your technical side. This also keeps all risks in-house.

Shared vision and passion
It’s imperative for your goals to match. When choosing a co-founder make sure the person you have in mind shares the same vision and belief in the idea as you. Plus, he/she must have the patience and persistence to stick it out with you before the business germinates. But, be clear of each other’s expectations from the beginning to avoid sticky situations in the later stages of your business.

Lives in your city
Living in the same city gives you greater ability to brainstorm together on a daily basis, bounce ideas and helps in developing a long-term bond. Moreover, if and when you seek external funding, most investors want to see core management meet each other and brainstorm daily.

Similar age and situation in life
A wide age difference between co-founders can be detrimental as it becomes a generation gap. This can show up at crucial decision-making times. Also, if you have no family responsibilities and your co-founder is well into a domestic life, it may come in the way of daily business.

Similar working style
Are you a morning person? Love to create to-do lists and work methodically? Whatever your answers, make sure your co-founder matches it too. Some consider this less of a priority, but many think it is as important as the rest. Co-founders, say experts, have to be in sync and it starts with basic routines.

©Entrepreneur December 2010

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co-founder, How-to