Learn why having a co-founder in your new startup is beneficial and will help you grow faster.
Contents
A New Business Means a New Beginning. Don’t Start It Solo
Starting a new business is like going on a new journey. It is both exciting and scary because you can never predict the future of your voyage. Whether you invest on your own or take a bank loan, you have to be prepared for the loss if things go wrong.
Along with these, comes the many responsibilities you have to bear that come with managing and running a successful business. No matter how much you think you can bear the stress all by yourself, mentally you are never prepared for it.
Even though running a company by yourself sounds fancy as you can make all the decisions and own most of it, there are many reasons you should opt for having a Co-Founder. Though the decision may be hard to take, the benefits a Co-Founder can add to the company will make you lean towards having one.
The Role a Co-Founder Plays
Let’s first find out what a Co-Founder’s function is in a startup. A founder is a person who has a structured idea of the business in progress but may lack some sort of skill, resource, or financial support to take the plan into action. This is where the Co-Founder comes into play.
Most people automatically assume that a founder and co-founder hold the same responsibilities in the company. However, the co-founder is more of the missing piece a business requires to establish. A co-founder aids the founder to help grow and expand the business model.
It is important to find the perfect co-founder and if you are planning to start your own company then there is no better place to find a co-founder than https://www.starthawk.io/
Things a Co-Founder Needs to Do in a Company
Different businesses have different requirements that a co-founder needs to fulfil. These keep changing according to the growth and the economical niche of the business and thus being a co-founder is not an easy job.
Keeping an Eye for Business Opportunities
Although the founder seems to be the mind behind the project, the cofounder is the responsible party for scaling and go-to-market plans. They have to explore the areas of potential where the product can be placed to gain the most exposure and make a big impression on the section of the industry they plan to reach.
Refining the End Product
When the final product is done and ready, the co-founder needs to be present in the company’s board meeting for any last-minute corrections to the product and also to make improvements based on customer feedback of the sample products released by the industry.
Setting the Board of Trustees
One of the biggest responsibilities of a co-founder is to select good board members. As the co-founder holds a major share of the company, he or she can carefully choose the members of its board and has to ensure that the communication between each member is balanced and smooth.
The co-founder can not only select the board, they possess the power to make most of the decisions and guide the board along the path the company needs to proceed.
Planning the Business right and Recruiting the Finest Employees
Co-founders need to provide a strategic plan that envisions both the long-term and short-term goals of the company. The plan should also include any sudden affair that occurs, and a solution to it.
A big part of their job is to recruit human resources. The efficiency of a company relies on its employees and it is the co-founder’s job to handpick the best employees for its company.
Making Financial Decisions
For any business, it is important to inspect every aspect of the plan and the final product before making any kind of financial advancement. This decision is taken by the co-founder.
You have to find the exact balance which will allow you to make the most profit using the least amount of resources. However, we also have to keep in mind that over or underutilization of resources can put any new business at great risk.
Set of Skills Every Co-Founder Should Have
The co-founder of a company possesses huge control over the working body and to implement this control, they need to have a set of skills.
Strong Leadership Skill
Just like a group of wolves following the alpha male who leads the pack, the same way employees of a company would perform in accordance with the co-founder’s direction. Therefore, the co-founder should always have a positive mental attitude at work.
He or she should be able to encourage the employees to be as productive as possible regardless of the circumstances.
Communication is the Key
Co-founders need to understand how to effectively convey instructions quickly and clearly and must be able to do smooth negotiation so that the efficiency and the speed of work remain intact. A co-founder represents the company on both external and internal levels.
Hence they need to know how to conduct good communication with employees, customers, or buyers. Just like how communication with employees is important for production, so is important with customers for product sale.
Specific Skills Related to the Business
You should be very cautious while choosing a co-founder. You need to make sure that your co-founder has the specific skills needed for your business, this could be technological, design-related, or even marketing and sales.
This will help the business reach its expected goal much faster than someone with minimum experience and knowledge about your start-up.
Quick Problem-Solving Ability
While initiating a new business, you will be facing many challenges and unprecedented problems that will require quick solutions. A co-founder must be able to think on his feet and provide proper and beneficial advice either to temporarily solve the problem or buy time to reach a conclusion.
Along with that, the co-founder must be able to take hard decisions which sometimes may induce a clash of interest, and the co-founder should know how to handle the situation.
Even though it may sound like the job of a co-founder is very stressful and full of havoc, it will put less pressure on you and allow you as a founder to have some time off from all the daily grind of your job life. After all, starting a new business is not an easy task and you will need all the help that you can get.
Benefits of Working with a Co-Founder
You do not have to go through the anxiety of running a company alone when you can find a co-founder that is the perfect fit for you and share the load of competency. The only person who will understand your work stress is your Co-founder, not your wife or children.
Having a Fresh Perspective
Sometimes when we are stuck in a situation or with a problem, we fail to find any alternative solutions. At times like these, a fresh perspective makes a whole lot of difference, and can even find the solution you have been looking for.
When two people are brain-storming, it is enough to generate new and unique ideas, that is why a co-founder is needed. A co-founder is more like your work wife.
Easily Bear the Initial Costs
Starting a new business is a big financial investment. It is not easy to collect funds for materials or services that people cannot experience first-hand. Having a co-founder will allow you to share these expenses that will come your way at the beginning. This way you can easily create a sample product and work on fundraising for your business instead of bearing the full expenses on your own.
You Don’t Have to Think About Investors
If you have too many founders or co-founders, there is always the risk of clash and fraud. Communication between two people is easier to establish than a room full of founders to come to a mutual agreement. Every person has a different priority and hence a different opinion on the problem.
As a result, it will cost you more time and effort to find a solution to the problem that everyone will agree with. Having a co-founder will make it easier for you to explain your point of view knowing that both of you have the same precedence.
Don’t Be Confused, Look for a Co-Founder today. It is Truly Worth the Trouble
Now that you know about all the amazing and somewhat relaxing benefits you will gain from having a co-founder, there shouldn’t be any more doubts in your mind about finding one.
After all, two is better than one!
I am Arjun Kumar. I am the owner and administrator of Finance Gradeup. I have completed my education in Arts & Technology. Arjun Kumar usually has interests in playing games, reading and writing. He was a brilliant student during his college days. He also works for many private companies, but the main interest of Arjun Kumar is digital marketing. He thinks that reading is a must before providing any quality information to his readers. You can find Arjun Kumar on much social media handles online, or you can learn more about him in about us page.