My Co-Founder And I Couldn’t Make It Work (How To Setup A Partnership For Success)
After years of blood sweat and tears I decided to call it quits. My optimism got the best of me and I honestly never envisioned things working out the way they did. I always thought success was inevitable. The truth is it was doomed from the beginning, but in the end the experience has taught me a valuable series of lessons.
I relied heavily on my partners experience and didn’t take the time to assess its relevancy.
My partner had years of experience in the business and tons of domain knowledge. I had around 10 years of experience building software and so it felt like it was a great match. I would build and my partner would sell.
Early on things where great, until we maxed out my partners network. I had incorrectly assumed that creating new relationships was within my partners realm of expertise but it wasn’t. My partner was an expert at selling services via outside sales — visiting often with clients and maintaining the relationship. Selling a national (or even global) SaaS product was a whole different ball game and likely required an inside sales approach. If I had taken some time to understand these differences I think we could have addressed and solved this issue early on. Unfortunately it took me years to understand and by then it was too late.
What I learned is you have to do your research when forming a partnership. Early on you can’t delegate all aspects of a core business function to someone else entirely. Sure — I will never be a sales person, but it’s not that difficult to do some reading on the basics and ask questions. It was my responsibility to evaluate this as and I was passive, choosing instead to lean on my existing skill set and expertise.
What I should have done: I should have asked the question — “How is this new endeavor going to be different from what you have already done?”. I should have asked for a plan and then worked through validation of the details.
We held each other accountable on tasks, but not results.
Often after hours of discussion and planning I would walk away from a weekly meeting really excited. It felt like we were always close to winning — just a few things to do before this thing clicked. Yet each week it felt like we were always talking about the same thing. Sure things would get done, but it never really seemed like “the” thing that needed to get done was getting done. The same problems always seemed to linger — and no matter how hard we worked we never seemed to make real progress.
It turned out that we were micromanaging each other. We were trying to make sure we were doing the right things, but in the end we lost focus of the goals. It should have been simple — I should have been responsible for building out new features that customers loved and my partner should have been finding new ways to get those features in front of prospects (and close sales of course). These meetings could have been 10 minutes each week — but instead we felt that we had to collectively figure everything out together. In the end the tires were spinning but the train was stationery .
What I should have done: I should have identified goals or KPI’s at the very beginning. If we could have identified early on which areas we were effective in (and which areas we were not) it would have changed the conversation. Instead we focused on trivial details.
We didn’t share the same philosophy on how to get where we want to go.
I tend to be really pragmatic (sometimes to a fault). My partner was very interested in doing things right. When individuals with these mindsets work together it can be magic — and when they don’t it’s a nightmare. Shortly after forming the partnership I read “Lean Startup” and became very excited about the concept of idea validation. It seemed my partner believed that an impeccable image would lead to success. Chances are we were both right on some level — but the two philosophies were at odds. There was no chance either of us was going to change our view.
What I should have done: Initially I should have insisted we discuss our philosophies on how to create a product people will want. Good partners don’t always have to agree on specifics but without a shared vision for “how” to achieve your goals the misalignment will likely be insurmountable.
It turned out we didn’t even want to go to the same place.
It’s clear now — I was looking to create financial freedom through growth and revenue. My partner was interested in creating a legacy. I came to realize that those were two very different things. In the beginning they sounded very much alike — both were dependent on success. The difference though was in the timeline — I wanted to achieve success quickly while my partner was content in being in it for the long haul.
What I should have done: I should have established timelines from the very beginning. Combined with goals and a shared philosophy we would have quickly determined if success was in the cards. Unfortunately without the proper approach it was a long and painful journey.
In the end you need transparency.
Partners that can’t be honest with each other are unlikely to succeed. Opening up, thinking critically, and being realistic is the only way it can work. I am convinced that finding a person who can complement your own skills and vision makes success easier to attain, but like any investment there is both risk and reward.
