The straightforward answer to this is never, I have all the necessary skills, there is a clear opportunity, I have the confidence and clarity to completely go about it then the answer is never, go alone and try your luck but that is not what we are discussing it here.
Modern businesses are complicated, dynamic and evolving. It is not like a still picture but a movie (being played). In such changing circumstances it becomes very difficult to handle everything all alone. In such a situation consider taking similar minded people as partners and co-founders.
What qualities should be considered before taking someone as a partner or co-founder in my startup?
There are many qualities some of the important ones are listed below.
Should be a person of the highest integrity
As Warren Buffet rightly said “Look for 3 things in a person intelligence, energy and integrity, if they don’t have the last one don’t even bother with the first two” He mentioned this in the context of selecting a right employee, however, choosing a partner is no different and even more critical and important. I can fire an employee but I cannot remove a partner without hurting or shutting down the business.
Has a complementary/supplementary skill
Choose someone with supplementary skill rather than complementary skill, there is no hard and fast rule however, rather than having overlapping skills it is always advisable to have separate skills i.e If I am good at technical skills then the other should be good at marketing skills. It helps in attaching roles and responsibilities clearly. This also empowers us to cover key areas of the business and enables us to think from different perspectives, it brings in diverse expertise and helps us in having a good grip and control on the overall business we are trying to build.
Has a good synergy
Synergy acts like a catalyst and enables us to push forward with rigour, might and aggressiveness. Here 2 + 2 is more than 4. It does not mean the other person always agrees to what I say, on the contrary, it says that there should be constructive argument based on facts and figures and things should be examined critically based on our expertise and judged accordingly, irrespective of who comes up with the idea or solution. Remember agreeing on everything (always) is an existential threat to the business. It means that I am not thinking and going with what other person is saying blindly.
Long term view
Building something is not an easy task, and building something great is more profound. If I am always thinking about how much I am going to make this month and next month, then it is better to do a 9 to 6 job. Never partner with such a person. Thinking strategically and having a long term mindset and goals is of utmost importance. Personally, I have rejected many clients & projects which are not aligned in the interest of the business and was not taking me, where I want to be in the long term and was not aligned in what I wanted to build. Running after short term profits is going to hurt very badly in the long term. In short, avoid people with a short term mindset.
Skills
Our education system does not make us employable from day one. We either learn it ourselves or we learn it on the job. Similarly, nobody has all the skillset required to run a business. An ability to adapt, learn, unlearn and relearn is of paramount importance, yet this requires a different kind of zeal, energy and motivation. Some people enjoy doing monotonous work, for someone like me, it is a death sentence. The point is with no skills but the right attitude anything can be done or achieved, hence do not rate or judge based on skills alone. If I am adamant that I will stick to skills which I already know, then I am doomed from day one. Business is dynamic, customers are more and more demanding, competition is cut-throat, hence I do not have the luxury to stick to one skill. Hence identify a person with the right attitude even if skills are not up to the mark.
Has a different perspective
This enables us to analyse things critically, individually and has an unbiased view on different aspects of the business and overall management. It empowers us to come up with things that are in the best interest of the business and helps us in coming up with the best decisions.
Is a good human being
I cannot emphasize this more enough, this is the least acknowledged factor while choosing a partner. It is the most simple but highly underrated quality in today’s leadership as well. Having empathy, clemency, compassion, understanding and knowing the other person’s point of view takes us a long way in building our relationship with all the stakeholders be it, customers, employees, investors, vendors, suppliers, wholesalers, distributors and clients. It costs nothing but acts like a magnet, which attracts almost everyone. How many of us have said this “I want to work with this manager only, I will buy from this vendor only, I want this person in my team”. However, appreciate that this attribute is indeed rare and if I have it I have it, I cannot change myself to be a good human being, it is part of me, my character and who I really am.