Finding the right cofounder for your startup can be stressful and time-consuming.
What does it mean to have the right cofounder working with you to succeed in your entrepreneurial project?
According to a recent study, a bit more than 50% of startups fail in the first four years itself. Most of these startups need a stable flow of revenue, investors who believe in themselves and a good idea. But most importantly, they require the right team which will support each other through the developmental period.
Below, I explain how you can find the perfect cofounder to help turn your startup dream into a long-term business reality.
4 main factors to consider when a founder is recruiting a cofounder
From skills and experience to establishing if there is a conflict of interest between projects, underneath I’ve explained the key things you need to consider when recruiting a cofounder.
1. Does your cofounder have the skills and experience that you need?
The first thing is to define exactly which complementary skills and experience you need to execute your plan. It means also to know your own strengths. Hire someone who has the skills that you lack. Stop wasting your valuable time doing things that others can do more efficiently. Your ability to focus on doing only what you’re best at will have a strong impact on how successful you’ll become within your business.
Having the right skills is not enough! Your cofounder should be able to achieve his/her mission as well. It means that you need to check that in your environment, the future cofounder has the ability to perform his/her role as expected. For example, having been an MD in marketing in retail does not necessarily imply that this person can do the tasks himself/herself or has the knowledge to run a marketing campaign for your product or your specific client’s segment.
2. Does he/she have an active and notable role in the outcomes of your project?
Your cofounder has to be sufficiently committed and passionate about their work as a result of noting your own goals. He/she has also to spend enough time on your project to demonstrate his/her added value. Because in the beginning, you don’t have the funding capacity to pay your team at their value as if they were employed by a large corporation, you need to find alternative ways to motivate your cofounders to be active and to invest adequate time for future returns. Most of the time, you cofounder will have another job and it’s important to agree clearly with him/her about the investment he/she has to put in his/her mission and the future returns he/she will get. A vesting partner agreement is one way to manage the objectives and the expected outcomes.
3. Does your cofounder share the same vision as you?
Having a shared vision for your startup with your founding team is essential. The cofounders should discuss altogether the project foundations (the strategy, the tactics, the roadmap, the actions plan, the financial forecasts, the company values) to reach an agreement for a common vision. The founding team has to check regularly that they have an aligned vision. I have seen so many startups fail because of a disagreement on those foundations during the first years.
4. Does a Conflict of interest exist?
You need to ensure that your cofounder is fully dedicated to the project, not using his/her position within your startup to develop his/her own activity. This is not easy at the beginning to ask a cofounder to avoid any conflict of interest and especially when there is no instant payback while he/she has to do another job as a living. However, it is very important when representing your startup that your cofounder is not taking any opportunities to sell services or goods from another business, recruit people for a third party, except for when you have a specific formal agreement for this purpose.
How IdeasVoice helps you in finding the right cofounder
With IdeasVoice, we give you the tools to
- Find the cofounder with complementary skills,
- Detail the role of the future cofounder you are looking for,
- Test what added value the person can bring to your project,
- Check his/her motivation,
- Find out about the level of engagement and the amount of time the potential cofounder can give,
- Assess his/her professionalism.
IdeasVoice is more than a dating platform for founders and cofounders. IdeasVoice invites all potential cofounders to participate in discussions on a project in order to demonstrate their strategic thinking and to share their know-how and experience. IdeasVoice’s approach guides the founder to talk about himself, the project and his needs. In addition to fostering trusted relationships, there is not only the possibility to report abuse, but there is also a verification ID service and a review process to encourage professional behaviour and networking.
For the entrepreneurs who want to save time in their search and increase the visibility of their projects, they upgrade to the premium membership.
Author Bio: Patricia Egard: [email protected]