Question: What ONE tip do you have for founders who want to bring a new partner into an existing business?
Question: What ONE tip do you have for founders who want to bring a new partner into an existing business?
Question: What ONE tip do you have for founders who want to bring a new partner into an existing business?
Vest Your Equity Over Time
"It is very difficult to find the right business partner. You need to have a similar work ethic and time line for the investment, your chemistry has to mix well, and your talents have to be complementary. Instead of giving the new partner all of his shares at once, consider having their shares vest over time so you have a fair solution if these factors do not line up as well as you expect, which is often the case."
@DougBend
Make Sure Your Skills Are Complementary
"Make sure your partner's skill set complements yours, but is not identical. Having two bean counters run an operation is not a recipe for success, and if two creative types make a go of it, the accounting and other more mundane aspects of the business could suffer or even be ignored."
@moneycrashers
Talk to Someone Who Has Done It Before
"There are many people who have success stories and an even larger amount who have failed due to partnerships. All the cliches of spending more time with this person than your significant other are true, but the best advice I give is to sit down with a few people who have done it themselves (ones that went well and not so well) to hear it firsthand."
@SpiralStair
Check for Cultural Fit
"Make sure you bring in a skill that you don’t have already have with a person who really fits in. In the early days of a company, you will be working with new partners constantly. Have candidates interview with several teams to ensure there is a cultural fit! For crucial first hires, run deep background checks and use references."
@johnberk
Create Operating Agreements
"Bringing in a new partner to an existing business can be complicated. Make sure you have a great operating agreement written by a seasoned attorney that outlines what happens to the business under all possible scenarios. Make sure that the agreement outlines how the members of the business will handle partners who stop contributing. It will be an expensive investment, but it will serve as the foundation for your relationship. If you have an existing operating agreement that is short and simple, it probably is exposing you to all sorts of risks. "
@chuckcohn
Have Conflict as Soon as Possible
"Between partners, conflict is bound to occur in absolutely every business. It's how your company handles conflict that will set you apart. It's vital to ensure that everyone uses conflict as a way to move the business forward, rather than create divisions in the company. As long as everyone embraces intensive discussions as being a healthy part of the company, conflict will be a net positive. When bringing in a new partner, it's important to make sure that he will be a good cultural fit. The sooner you have an impassioned disagreement about something important, the sooner you'll figure out if he is a good match."
@mitchgordongo
Show Her the Ropes
"Let her shadow you for a few days. Working at a startup is very different than working in a corporate environment, and even though the potential partner might have been a rockstar in previous companies, she might not thrive in a startup environment. Let her see what it’s really like so she knows what she's getting into."
@leahtn
Speak the Same Language
"Make sure you are speaking the same language. Research to one partner might mean 30 minutes of light skimming on the Web, while research to another is three hours of intense reference-checking and phone calls. In other words, make sure that you not only want the same things, but also that the meaning of those things is the same. Everyone wants a business to be successful, but what is a new partner's definition of success compared to yours? While you might have the same bullet-pointed goals, the translation of someone else's points might be completely different. Make sure everyone is on the same page and speaking the same, fully translated language. "
@kimkaupe
