When you have a co-founder, you’re 3x more likely to scale in your startup and not need venture capital.
Without a doubt, you will need other founders in your startup. I’ve met tons of founders who think they can do it all. They write grants, raise money, build products, and then screw it up because they didn’t put the time into building a team with delegated duties. In order to show promise, you will need serious momentum. One person is never enough.
Your co-founders should understand the value of hard work. Some get so caught up in the imagined value of their ideas that they sit around fantasizing about how wonderful they are. Get rid of these folks early on.
Limit the number of co-founders to no more than two or three. Make everybody else contractors who either earn stock or cash along the way. These folks don’t have the same voting rights as founders. is keeps the paperwork simple.
How can you find a great co-founder? Watch my video to find out:
1. Go to startup events. Interview people and get a sense of their tenacity and ability. You will find the people who rise to the top.
2. Lock a quality person down in your company. You can give your prospective co-founders a month-long trail period to really see how they work with your deliverables and work culture.
3. Once you establish trust and understanding with this person, you can start talking about equity and getting them in your cap table. From there, you can set longer term goals to start growing your company properly.
4. At the very least, don’t take on dead wood! Make sure these people will be worth your time, effort and money. If you’re not careful, you can really hurt yourself with people who have no work ethic.
Do you have an awesome co-founder? How did you find them? Have you had an experience with a not so awesome co-founder? I’d love to hear your thoughts, share them below!