One day, a 21-year-old college dropout living at his parents’ place in Los Altos, Calif., was fiddling with electronics in his family’s garage. In that moment, he had an idea: He wanted to build a personal computer that would revolutionize the world of technology.
There was just one problem. Sure, he took some creative courses after dropping out of college. And his father showed him how to take apart and rebuild radios and televisions in their garage. But something was missing: He didn’t have the skills or experience to build his own computer. That’s what kept him from turning a hobby into a business
But one day, a friend introduced him to another friend who worked at Hewlett Packard and knew more about electronics than he could ever imagine. The duo—Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak—hit it off and started hanging out after work. This simple introduction was the start of a very fruitful friendship. But it was the most unseemly combination.
It was clear Jobs and Wozniak were complete opposites. Wozniak, who was five years older than Jobs, designed computers while Jobs tinkered with gadgets. Wozniak was more of the technical mind while Jobs had the business vision. Wozniak was shy while Jobs was extroverted. But both of them had one thing in common: a love of electronics.
Given Wozniak’s background in designing and building computers and Jobs’ passion, creativity, and vision, the two friends had the emblematic hand-in-glove relationship. And in 1976, Apple Computers was born in Jobs’ garage. Today, we know that Apple Inc.’s market success is strongly attributed to their leadership as co-founders and teammates.
How many successful startups do you know that are operated by just one person? Software magnate Larry Ellison was the only chief executive of Oracle from when the company started in 1977 until 2014. But it was clear that even when he resigned, Oracle had an entire army of management people supporting the CEO.
But what’s wrong with saving a little money and getting a bigger piece of the pie by being the sole founder? In his article on “18 Mistakes That Kill Startups,” YCombinator co-founder and venture capitalist Paul Graham says: “It’s a vote of no confidence. It probably means the founder couldn’t talk any of his friends into starting the company with him. That’s pretty alarming, because his friends are the ones who know him best.”
Now imagine you’re starting your own business. What is the most important part of a company? It’s not the money. It’s not the investors. It’s not how much your company is worth. All those things are meaningless if you don’t have the right business partner.
Think of it like this: Rome wasn’t built in one day. Businesses take time to grow, and at the foundation, there has to be a partner who supports you and shares your vision. Jobs couldn’t have conceptualized, designed, and built all those iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks on his own. There’s no way. He had to come to terms with his abilities and limitations.
Practically speaking, many venture capital firms and investors are opposed to working with companies that have a single founder. Unless you’re a repeat story of success in the world of entrepreneurs and a hotshot with millions of dollars, investors will fear there’s a risk that the sole founder could burn out or get hit by a bus due to some freak accident.
A perk of having a co-founder is sharing the financial burden. It’s no secret that starting a business is expensive. It takes years for an idea to mature and reach the product development stage. In that time, your idea may need to go through multiple test phases. With a co-founder, you can split out-of-pocket expenses of running those tests. This would allow you to get a functional prototype going until you can actually raise funds. Working with a co-founder ensures you will be able to move the idea forward.
A third reason a co-founder is important is say you had a really bad day. Your co-founder can completely sympathize with you, share your burden, and keep you levelheaded. Although you could always vent to your family and friends, there’s no one who understands exactly what you’re going through like your co-founder. Who else can you call at 3 a.m. to share your frustrations or even an epiphany moment in the shower?
Before you look for a co-founder, you should do these three things:
1. Make a list of qualities you want in a potential co-founder. Take time to do this because it will require honestly assessing what your skills are and admitting your shortcomings. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Lay it all out.
2. Find people who share common values and passions as you. More than having a flawless resume and impressive cover letter, you want to be able to share life with this person. It helps if they hold similar beliefs, whether it is faith, principles, or standards.
3. Look for someone who isn’t going to say yes to everything. Don’t hire someone who’ll kiss up to you or compliment you on how you parted your hair. You want someone who doesn’t think exactly the same way you think. This may seem counterintuitive because that could create room for butting heads and conflicts. But it’s important to know your co-founder has a backbone and can hold his or her own.
Photo credit: Lauren Kallen