Comments on: Do I Need a Co-Founder: The 90/50 Rule of Startup Founders

By: Tristan Kromer

Tristan Kromer — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:26:59 +0000

I have to strongly agree with Sean here. I don't even like having coffee with people I agree 90% of the time with. It's boring.

Perhaps some distinction needs to be made though. There's a difference between additive agreement and a yes man. Your cofounder can agree with you all the time if the next word out of his/her mouth is "Yes...AND we can improve your idea by doing X."

Of course if the only thing they ever say is "Yes, but..." then it's probably a disaster waiting to happen.

Cheers,
Tristan

By: Jonathan Arehart

Jonathan Arehart — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:01:49 +0000

Right. If you can't agree in general with your co-founder you're probably not going to be good business partners.

By: Jonathan Arehart

Jonathan Arehart — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:55:53 +0000

I agree with this comment. You need healthy debate in an organization at the executive level, especially in a startup, to keep things on track. If everyone is running in the same direction and nobody is checking in along the way ("Why are we doing this? Does this fall within our vision? Is there a better, more efficient way?") you have the risk of going off-course. Just because you have a plan doesn't mean it's static. It's a moving target.

Obviously if you're arguing over paint colors for your office that's one thing, but having a debate among the founding team about strategic issues and even implementation is generally a healthy thing. If there is no disagreement and no debate then I would be very concerned.

I just don't think it can be quantified.

By: Lisa B.

Lisa B. — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:23:30 +0000

I tend to agree with the 90/50 rule as a good guideline for deciding if you can succeed with said potential co-founder. Before you have even begun you are discussing things such as end result and a vision on how to attain that. If these are not things you can agree on 90% of the time then you are likely to meet many roadblocks as you venture down that unknown path. I'm all for a good debate, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure I want that from my business partner – 50% of the time. Too much added stress to an already stressful venture!

By: David Semeria

David Semeria — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:16:59 +0000

Hi Alain, the post length was fine – some ideas require more space than others, and there's nothing worse than padding!

I would just add that for pre-funded startups, your co-founder's willingness to relocate can affect your funding options. This is more of an issue for people living outside of the main funding centres.

By: alain94040

alain94040 — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:56:48 +0000

You are correct. I would argue that if there are value disagreements, then it would fall naturally in the 50% category. Basically, I'd expect a lot of disagreements.

By: skmurphy

skmurphy — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:44:46 +0000

I think you need to distinguish between values conflicts, where you should have very high agreement, and disagreements over strategies or tactics to implement or sell your product. Two different perspectives (and a high degree of discussion/disagreement) is what makes a co-founder useful. It's disagreement over values and end objectives that break teams apart. But if you present your ideas or plans and your partner says “that's just what I would do” 90% of the time, or conversely if you cannot suggest ways to improve what your co-founder is contemplating, I would argue there isn't a lot of synergy or additional value being created by joining forces.

By: Knowtu » links for 2010-02-01

Knowtu » links for 2010-02-01 — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:58:59 +0000

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