Consider These Five Questions Before Appointing Your Co-Founder

The fastest way to be failed in determining the ‘Yin’ for your ‘Yang’ is by doing it in a rush. It takes a deep research and analysis to find out the finest one. This applies not only when you’re searching for a best friend for your life, but also in looking for a suitable Co-Founder for your business. Tom Gimble, LaSalle Network’s CEO, suggested that there are five things that a Founder should consider before appointing his Co-Founder.

It all rooted from a question by Dmitri Pisarenko in Entrepreneur’s ‘Ask the Expert’ column.

Q: When finding a potential co-founder, is there any systematic way to determine whether we both are compatible to each other or not? And what should I offer him as a reward if I have yet collected any traction?

Gimble responded, “There very first thing to ask yourself is why you want him to be your partner. Don’t ask somebody merely because you need support. Make sure that he has the long-term potential.”

Further he explained that by assuming you hold the steer, ask your potential partner to reveal his plans and vision. In addition, consider these five questions to ensure that you make the right decision.

1. How Did They Do the Same Thing in His Previous Role?

Don’t take anyone with no evident track record at all. It would be easier for your co-founder candidate to perform at your company if he has done similar job description before. Ask him to present his previous works so that he knows what you expect from him.

2. What Type of Metric Does He Use to Measure His Activities?

There are a number of scenarios of doing this. One, he uses the format your company’s using. Two, he uses a simpler format. Three, he doesn’t have any metric, which means you need to raise that red flag of yours. Or four, he uses an improper metric which needs you two to discuss about it further before inviting him aboard.

3. How Significant Do You Expect Him to Grow? For How Long?

The growth projection can help you determining whether he plays safe, risks everything, or does both. This is to remind you should he generates unrealistic growth projection without referring to the history of company and the trend of the industry, showing that he lacks the intention to find the best talents or projects an unpractical procedure in recruiting new employees.

4. How Much Time Do You Spend with Him?

Partnership is all about social and business. If you’re about to share your personal financial information to someone, you need to trust that person with all your heart. This is partnership by the way, so if you’re doing all the hard works while your Co-Founder spending his time playing golf, something definitely goes wrong.

5. Do You Want Him to Invest?

If so, you need to ask for his personal financial report. Don’t trust someone whom you don’t know whether he possesses the required resources or not. Gimble said, “I literally refer to the partnership term, you need to expect him to be as transparent and communicative as he can to you.”

“If you eventually ask them to design a pseudo business plan or spend more time, you can offer to pay him. You might want to offer $1,000 to $2,500, depends on his own experience. This shows your commitment,” he concluded.