Entrepreneurs Advised to Give Careful Consideration in Choosing a Co-Founder

Launching a startup can be a daunting proposition.  Founders often join themselves with a co-founder, typically to round out some skill sets they feel they may be missing.  As John Huston, manager of the Ohio TechAngel Funds, points out, this is not the only choice available to entrepreneurs – and in fact, may not always be the best choice. 

Huston contends that C-Level talent can often be attracted to a venture for far less of an equity stake than a co-founder. 

“Might you be wiser to identify the precise talent needed and attract several employees, rather than paying 50 percent to a co-founder who is unlikely to have all those skills in the same abundance,” writes Huston in a blog post on the TechLounge. 

Huston also recommends that those who do go the co-founder route develop provisions from the outset about how certain differences or conflicts will be handled.

“Presuming that you and your co-founder will equally enjoy your conjoined entrepreneurial journey and stay aboard until the exit can be a very costly assumption,” says Huston.

For more observations and recommendations about co-founding companies, see the complete post on the TechLounge.