Best advice for finding the right co-founder
Summary: Derek Andersen seeks advice on finding the right business partner, emphasizing the importance of complementing each other rather than having identical skills. Guillermo Vizcaíno highlights the significance of starting with a small project to understand how well potential partners work together under stress and conflict. Jason Kraus shares their experience of finding great partnerships through events and networking platforms, while others, like Tshepang tsoaela, discuss the need for funding for new ventures. Aamir Siddiqui and Zakaria Mekkaoui echo the importance of complementary skills and stress tests, comparing it to finding a life partner for shared goals. Meanwhile, Austin Erkl suggests considering coaches or accountability partners, potentially offering an alternative route to traditional partnerships.
I'd love to hear your advice for finding the right business partner. Please share any important parts of the relationship to consider, how to know you picked the right person. Thanks!
Michael Thaney
·7 months agoI just spoke to a founder that had to exit a startup due to co-founder disputes. He share some of the items that are now criteria that were previously assumptions. Note these are 2 technical cofounders: For example:
Know where the exits are: Trying to have the co-founder purchase his portion of the company to leave was such a mess, he ended up just walking away.
Check the Codebase: His co-founder hired and agency to build an MVP while they both finished their previous employments. He assumed they were starting with a working MVP but only had Figma wireframes. This might not apply to all startups, but he would have negotiated more equity if he knew his first couple months would be spent building the actual MVP, vs. GTM, Sales, and adding enterprise-ready features.
Escrow: His co-founder negotiated a certain equity split because he was going to put a certain amount of his personal capital into the startup when they both went full-time. When that day came the co-founder reduced the number due to his actual personal investments under performed during that time. Which wasn't the a deal-killer, but the co-founder wouldn't renegotiate the equity split while my founder had to pick up some freelancing work to pay the bills.
Minal Shah
·8 months agoFinding the right co-founder is less about titles and more about complementary skills, shared vision, and real trust for support in your startup journey, do visit https://investhind.com/
Thi Viet Vu
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Zakaria Mekkaoui
·10 months ago · EditedThis is a killer question because finding a co-founder is probably the most important thing you'll ever do. It's more of a marriage than a business deal.
You want someone with complementary skills, not identical ones. If you're a product geek, you need a marketing or sales animal. You’ll just get in each other’s way otherwise.
Also, you have to agree on the end game. Does one of you want a quick exit and the other wants to build a huge legacy company? If you're not aligned on the vision, every single decision will be a fight.
Honestly, the best advice is to do a "test drive." Work on a small project together first. See how they handle stress, conflict, and a missed deadline. You'll learn more about them in that week than you will in a dozen coffee meetings.
A great co-founder won't just make your business better; they'll make you better, too.
Aamir Siddiqui
·11 months ago · EditedDerek, finding a right co-founder is more difficult than finding a life partner. The right co-founder isn’t your clone, it’s your counterweight. Someone who fills your blind spots, challenges you without ego, and still shares the same obsession with the mission. The only real test? Build something unglamorous together first. If you still trust each other in the trenches, you’ve found the one who can turn fast steps into mountain-moving strides.
Austin Erkl
·11 months ago · EditedI always felt like I needed a business partner, but then I started working with different coaches + accountability partners and they did the trick. Much cheaper than I thought or I would have done it sooner lol. I'm actually now starting to do the same and offering a free week of coaching / accountability if you want, just google me: Austin Erkl . I guess in your instance just think of it as a business brainstorming double.
Tshepang tsoaela
·11 months ago · EditedI need a funding for the multiple revenue complex all in one on a prime location and I had a lease agreement verbal of 25 years and a sale offer sale is better for this complex it's a long term with zero competition rate and we secure the future together.
Jason Kraus
·11 months ago · EditedI found one of our team members by going out to a Startup World Cup and then invite him to a Startup Grind event and a few years later he joined our Prepare 4 VC team after keeping the relationship warm and supporting each other along the way. I also met previous co-founders on LinkedIn and Angellist/WellFound and have made great partnerships through conferences, events and referral introductions.
Guillermo Vizcaíno
Admin11 months ago · EditedGreat question, Derek - and honestly one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a founder.
I’ve started a few companies, and worked with different co-founders and early teams. And what I’ve learned is that your co-founder relationship really does shape the entire company. It’s like a marriage… but with more stress and less sleep 😅
The best partnerships I’ve had were with people who complemented me, not people who thought exactly like me. One of us was more product-focused, the other more sales and ops. That balance really helped when things got tough.
If I could go back, I’d always start with a project together before making anything official. Just something small. Build, test, miss a deadline, argue a little, then see how you both handle it. You learn so much in those first few weeks.
Also, don’t avoid the awkward convos. Talk about money, stress, expectations, even what happens if one of you wants to step away. I skipped that once and regretted it big time.
Last thing I’ll say: pick the person who shows up consistently, and shares your passion. Not just the one with the most hype. The one who answers the late messages and still pushes when it’s not fun. If you find someone like that, hold on tight. That kind of trust is rare, and worth building with. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽