#Essays
What is a good co-founder worth? Assume that you will execute your most ambitious vision for your startup, are you willing to give half of those earnings away? For most of the entrepreneurs, upon extrapolation its a no-brainer yes[0].
With that in mind - who is your co-founder? - Ambitious outlier you found way before the world did.
Understandable[1], but very counter-intuitive - we don't judge our co-founders as such in the initial days of starting up and that reflects in the vetting we do while talking with potential co-founders, the decision of who to co-found with and the way we work with them.
Co-founder choice problem is going to be heard more since more startups are going to be found by people that have not known each other before starting up[2].
Here's my thoughts after observing tense founder relations and analyzing personal failures on the topic.
Most founders are good at finding the one with complementary skills. They are also very good at identifying polar opposites in values but, as humans, have hard time figuring out and internalizing in-between.
Founders with different core values shouldn't startup together. You won't work with the same enthusiasm as you would and should. And it will end up in divorce at one point or the other.
You want to find an ambitious outlier way before the world did...with same core values as you have.
Actual core values are found three layers below of what people say their core values are. Any core value that can be expressed in a single word, is marketing material/ dictionary content, not a core value. You can't have "honesty" as core value[4].
Throughout your conversations, especially in the initial days, you want to know what they say their core values are, what they actually do and gather past data. And you need to do two things - match your value scales and share your past data/ stories. Most of the core values are very personal and less professional. You want to ask deeply personal questions you are comfortable answering.
Some examples: If your co-founder says that they are a feminist (and probably is) but also has a knack for (and enjoys) cracking good sexist jokes that you don't have an appetite for - you have different core values. If your co-founder is getting angry and displaying it in a way that you are not comfortable with (how much ever warranted it is and however less often it is) - you have different core values.
Work together for few days/weeks. That gives most data about each other. You are looking for someone who is smart(er) and puts in efforts at the scale you aspire to be. Best co-founder choice is when you are intrigued by their intelligence and inspired by their efforts. And it comes naturally to them.
Your productivity graph is your data on whether the team works. Even better[5] - get an external party (mentors/friends) to track your productivity graph.
Confidence on co-founder choice is like hockey stick. Trick is to take just the right time to stay in the slow growth phase before shooting up.
Check if you are fighting the right problems and facing the right failures. If the battles are about internal execution - you have a problem. Battles about external reception will be your day to day execution and is the crux of starting up anyway.