Startups Stack Exchange Archive

Should you create a company with a co-founder with unpredictable tendencies?

Take this scenario.

You have been offered to be a co-founder of a Company with a good friend you have worked with for a few years.

You both work well together and bounce great ideas off each other and everything is fine and dandy.

However, your potential Co-founder has some unpredictable tendencies.

They can be stubborn and believe their idea is the best and there is no other option. They are not very reliable etc.

Is it worth the risk of partnering with someone such as this and hope everything goes OK or do you wait until you are completely confident in your business partner?

Answer 2985

Personally I started ventures with friends and in the end when things went south, well … we really do not talk anymore. From experience anytime you have an inkling of doubt you should raise it up with them. In your case, seeing how they take your feedback will be a good test to know if the issues you have with them are manageable or not. In the end listen to your gut, it somehow already knows the answer.

Answer 2991

I’m going to offer that if you have doubts, don’t get into bed with them. Being in a partnership is like a marriage. The other option is to structure it in such a way that there is recourse if things go south. Some mechanism for removing a partner.

In my opinion a startup is so hard and stressful that if there are fissures they will eventually crack, so I would beware.


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