While it is beneficial to have a sound founding team, it comes with its own risks too.
We all are aware of this old African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
While this holds true for our personal lives, it has its own significance for startups as well. There is enough data and surveys done that support how working with a good founding team improves a startup’s chances to succeed. While it is beneficial to have a sound founding team, it comes with its own risks too. One of the most common reasons why startup fail is the differences or conflicts among co-founders or the founding partners. Therefore, it is extremely important to exercise caution when choosing a founding team.
Another challenge is to get people interested to come on-board at the pre-revenue stage because of the degree of uncertainty involved.
Bring diverse skill set
Your co-founder or founding team’s skills should complement yours that would not just help you with a great start but even attract investors who look for diverse talent in the team and their ability to find solutions to problems. Nonetheless, the candidate’s work experience, industry expertise, intelligence, credibility, communication, personality, and most importantly passion or fire in their belly can’t be ignored.
Use your personal network
The best bet to locate the desired talent is your personal network. Try to find out who can help you with the referrals you need and tell them what you are building and what qualities you are looking for in a co-founder. Vouch for people that can personally recommend the candidate to you..
Look beyond your network
Find out peers in the start-up community and network with them. This is possible if you are spending time in a co-working space, attending any start-up-meet or are part of start-up forums on social media. Networking, whether online or offline, can put you in touch with like-minded people and help develop meaningful relations to eventually come across the right partner.
Know the person well before the wedlock
Know your partner before mutually agreeing to this professional tie-up. Go on several dates before you decide to enter into a formal marriage. Over the time you might realize that they don’t share the same ideologies or complementary style of working. To avoid any clashes later, its best to ensure that you share long-term compatibility or else the marriage will fail, thereby putting the start-up’s future in jeopardy.
Published on Entrepreneur India