Skip to main content

Building a team to launch your business

If you are working on a highly ambitious and disruptive startup idea, most likely you will need a team around you to bring it to fruition. There are several reasons you might want to consider getting co-founders – you might not have all the skills and experience for the product/sector, most investors look to fund a team rather than an individual or you might not want to embark on this journey alone. Below, we have curated a handy list of resources to help you understand whether you need a co-founder, how to find one and how you can avoid any co-founder conflicts as this is one of the primary reasons most startups fail.

 

  1. Do you need a co-founder?

In the early phases of your startup, do you need a cofounder? Who’s the right person and what kind of prior relationship should you have? Is it helpful for fundraising? And if you’re not a technical person, how do you convince a coding ninja to get on board?

 

  1. How to find a co-founder

YC Partner Kat Manalac on how to find a co-founder, where cofounders from top YC companies met, what YC looks for in cofounding teams, how to split equity with a cofounder, and do you need a co-founder at all?

 

  1. How to convince someone to join your startup

Dalton Caldwell, Y Combinator partner and founder of Imeem and Mixed Media Labs, on how to convince someone to join your startup.

 

  1. How to find a technical co-founder

Michael Seibel on how to find a technical cofounder. Michael is CEO and a Partner at Y-Combinator. He was the co-founder and CEO of Justin.tv and Socialcam. 

 

  1. Tech Founder’s Guide To Picking A Non-Tech Founder

This blog discusses key questions and framework for technical cofounders to evaluate non-technical cofounders.

 

  1. Questions co-founders need to ask before starting

A useful list of questions co-founders needs to think about before starting to work together to prevent any future conflicts.

 

  1. Co-founder equity split

The question of equity brings out the most fundamental differences, perceptions, and values in an aspiring startup.  In fact, the equity question, more than any other, may strangle a young company before it can even get started. 

 

  1. Equity calculator

A very handy and quick tool to calculate how much equity each member of the founding team should get based on various criteria and contributions.

 

  1. How to avoid co-founder conflict

Few co-founder relationships survive the pressure — research shows that 65% of startups fail because of interpersonal tensions within the founding team. This article is by psychotherapist, bestselling author, TED Speaker and podcast host Esther Perel, who shares some techniques for getting to the root of recurring disagreements and tactics for navigating conflict in the heat of the moment.

 

  1. Co-founder agreement templates

Above, you will find Cofounder Agreements templates (Doc/PDF) which will help you set up your business partnerships right from the start! General templates are available for almost all European jurisdictions.

 

Please note: Durham Start Up Portal includes links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to solely provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).