How to choose a co-founder: the first decision in team building
Most startup failures begin with the team, not the idea. Patterns seen again and again across 8,000 matches.
Hiring is what an already-running company does to fill an open seat. Finding a co-founder is finding someone to build with, sharing equity, at a stage when there is barely a company to speak of. The timing, the argument you make, and the things you have to verify are all different.
Four things to actually look at
- Complementary skills: not someone like me, but someone who does what I can't
- Decision style: where a fast decider and a thorough reviewer collide
- Conditions for holding on: how many months without pay you can absorb, and whether your family is on board
- On equity: how you explain the number matters more than the number itself
Career and education are already on the resume. The reasons teams break apart are almost always somewhere else.
Set equity at the start and put it in writing
The most common mistake is putting off the equity conversation. It only gets settled properly while everyone still gets along. Put the contribution criteria, the vesting period, and the buyback terms for an early departure into a shareholders' agreement at the start, and you can protect the company later.
The point where teams fall apart
- The stretch just before launch, when the workload peaks
- The stage right after first revenue, when views on who contributed what diverge
- The window where equity gets locked in right before the first round
All three points are predictable. Set the rules in advance and most teams get through them.
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