The document provides advice for starting a company with a cofounder. It recommends getting to know potential cofounders before deciding to work with them. Once a cofounder is chosen, the document emphasizes making agreements explicit by detailing expectations in writing. This includes discussing difficult topics and setting boundaries to avoid disagreements destroying the partnership. Overall, the document stresses the importance of open communication and establishing clear operating guidelines upfront to set the partnership up for success.
14. Disagreements
❖ Disagreements can happen when you
haven’t discussed how to deal with things in
advance.
❖ Disagreements between founders kill start-
ups.
❖ Once a major disagreement is reached, it’s
hard to think rationally.
22. Write things down
❖ Until it’s written down, it’s implicit
❖ People forget what they agreed
❖ Clear writing brings out disagreements
❖ Writing = coding for people
23.
24. Don’t be afraid of the
bad stuff
❖ Embarrassing topics
❖ People’s circumstances change
❖ Shit happens
25. Don’t make it work at
all costs
❖ Grab opportunities - don’t jump off a cliff
❖ If there’s a major disagreement, seriously
consider pulling the plug
❖ Trust your gut
26. In short...
❖ Starting up is awesome
❖ Starting up with a good cofounder is even
better
❖ But...
27. In short...
❖ Make agreements explicit
❖ Detail your agreements
❖ Write things down
❖ Don’t be afraid of discussing negative
scenarios
❖ Don’t make it work at all costs
Going to talk about what it’s like to start a business with someone else
From the point of view of the tech cofounder
How many people have their own startups already?
How many want to start their own startup?
You’re not completely crazy (or at least there’s two of you)
If you’re starting your first start-up, it really makes sense to have a cofounder
You don’t go looking for a cofounder to start a business with tomorrow anymore than you go looking for a wife to marry tomorrow
Things can end badly
need to be extra careful
Don’t want to lose a friend as well as a business
This is why I put together first an article and now these slides - because no business is worth losing your friends over, and there’s a few simple rules that you can put in practice to dramatically reduce the risk of falling out with your cofounder friend.
When cofounders break up, it’s usually because they’re having a disagreement about something.
Especially if starting with someone that you know well
You assume they know what you mean
- the business is successful
- the business is unsuccessful
- working hard on the startup
Apart from bringing up the points that need to be discussed, there’s more you can do to make the agreements explicit.
Another tool for making agreements explicit is writing things down...
