founderWhen looking for a fellow founder, there are some aspects of a fellow founder that require compatibility, and others that need differentiation. What should founders look for in fellow founder in regards to compatibility and differentiation?
I guess compatibility between founders should be there in terms of:
Differentiation on the other hand should be there in order to cover all management responsibilities in a startup, so that would be in the realms of complementary skill sets.
It’s not of much use if only a bunch of engineers and/or IT guys start a company, unless some of them also have a strong business sense and reasonable people skills.
There is no such thing as the perfect team, and there are many routes to success. Wise people will tell you that you shouldn’t have an all-engineer team; other wise people will tell you that non-engineer founders are a drain on the startup.
So to work out the right answer for you, you need to look at where you are and ask what you want to achieve next. The right team for now is the one that will get you to that goal, and the rest is guesswork.
Clearly a base level of compatibility is important. It’s tough being in a startup, and in the early months, if you don’t want to be with the people in your team, that’s really going to suck.
But other than that, every prescription I’ve seen is flawed. You want a balanced team? Your pace is going to suffer. You want a focused team? The lack of objectivity could see you flying blind off a cliff. You want a proven team? If you’re not already in one, that’s not an option.
So I would worry far more about filling the team with people who work hard, who are resilient, and who want to be the best at what they do. Select for those attributes, build your personal mentor network, and keep moving forward.
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