Your Co-founder is More than Just a Business Partner
First of all, I haven’t been blogging much as I’d like to but that will change. Well at least for the next 4 weeks I’ll be posting something new here each week.
Since starting QuickRake with Haji, I’ve recently realized the value a co-founder brings than trying to go at it alone or rushing to find someone to fit the role. Specifically, this realization came to me a month ago while I was in a middle of a 5 mile run with him.
Driving home after the run, I thought about reasons why a co-founder is much more than just a business partner or just a developer. When sitting down to write this post I decided it would be valuable to outline a few tips below that I’ve found helpful so far while working with my co-founder. Overall, these points can apply to either people looking for co-founders or current founders looking for ways to strengthen their dynamics between each other.
1. Challenge Each Other
The premise of this is simple. Haji and I create challenges for each other and if we don’t meet them then we would have to cook dinner or lunch for the other person. This brings me to the reason why I’m blogging again because this month’s challenge is for me to write 4 posts. So far I don’t need to make him any food.
At its core, this is one of many ways to motivate each co-founder to go above and beyond. Also, no one really likes losing a challenge. 😉 It’s easy to start doing this with your co-founders right now!
2. Realize New Things About Yourself
I thought about this blog post topic during the 5 mile run that Haji took me on. It’s something to note because I don’t really run long distances (always been a sprinter) and didn’t know I could run that length even though I’ve been going to the gym frequently. I might even sign up for a 5k at the end of the month!
Outside of work, a co-founder can help facilitate discover about yourself in other aspects of life.
3. Learn from Them
Haji and I have complimentary skill sets that we each bring to the table. This allows for knowledge in our respective areas to easily flow back and forth to learn from one another.
Knowing or at least grasping a high level understanding of what each function your co-founder excels in helps you put together a 360 degree view of your entire business. Nonetheless, you’re always learning new things fast in order to put them into play in your business. This is essential but is a topic for another post.
4. Accountability
This one is a no brainer. Starting a business with someone else helps you be accountable for what you need to get done in order to move forward. Also, you don’t want to disappoint each other and not put forth your best effort.
Being accountable not only keeps you from not disappointing your co-founder but also allows you to take ownership over what you do.
5. Push You Out of Your Comfort Zone
Similar to my first point there are times where you’re going to need to do things that puts you out of your comfort zone. It’s okay, embrace it and get out of your comfort zone to help your company succeed. There’s always a positive side to this because the next time you’re faced with the same situation you’ll already have experienced it.
Recently, my friend, Omri Mor, founder of a music platform to help artists promote their albums called Ziibra, shared a picture depicting a similar point:
As I’m going through my entrepreneurial path I’m sure I’ll note more benefits to having a co-founder(s) and will make sure to update this post. Hope these suggestions shine some light on things to look out for when finding your co-founder(s) or elements to incorporate in your current relationship with your founding team.
Just to be clear, this is merely highlighting benefits and suggestions to those looking to find a co-founder and current individuals who are co-founders. I’m well aware of many solo founders who make it work and in turn become very successful. These points are based upon my personal experiences.
Do you have any tips or advice? If so, please let me know in the comments section below!