Cofounders - The Friday Finance Break
The Friday Finance Break
(For anyone just tuning in, some Fridays we take a break from the CFO content and talk about founder mental health. If you're just here for the CFO stuff, we'll see you Monday!)
When we start a company, we all know we're taking a risk.
Thing is, I think most of us have 3 specific risks in mind:
Failure to raise capital
Failure to win customers
Failure because we run out of cash
I think we sometimes underestimate our potential for failure in another very important area:
Failure to work effectively with our team.
Because here's the truth:
If you get everything else right with your startup,
You sign on with Tier-A VCs
You attract dozens of high-ticket customers
You fill your coffers to the brim,
You can still torpedo everything,
If you don't get along with your cofounders and investors.
And if it doesn't torpedo the company itself,
It will end up torpedoing your life.
Most of your compensation as a founder comes from sticking around for the long haul.
It's less like a job; It's more like a marriage.
And if you don't like who you've picked,
It's going to suck, no matter what.
AND SO, what is a founder to do?
1) Pick your partners insanely carefully.
Do your research.
Explore the classic wisdom of The Founder's Dilemmas or the fresh perspectives of The Cofounder Code to discover the key factors that truly matter.
Hint: Best friends and family are some of the riskiest picks!
2) Reinvest generously in your partner relationships.
It might feel absurd to spend $500/hour on an executive coach
Or thousands on a company offsite
When you’re cutting salaries and stretching every dollar in a startup.
But it’s not absurd;
It’s essential.
How well you get along directly impacts how effectively you’ll work together—
And how long you’ll tolerate seeing each other’s faces.
Because it needs to be long enough
To make all the hard work worth it
For everyone involved.
Rest up over the long weekend, and I'll see you next week!
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