Sole Founder

The first company I started I had several co-founders.  After that experience, I decided to strike it out on my own as the sole founder of my next start-up.  Here is why...

There is one core reason to start a company by yourself: CONTROL.  Having control means a lot of things at the early stages of a company.  The most obvious part is there is no pie of equity to split up, its all MINE MINE ALL MINE.  However, that is a pretty dumb reason to start a company by yourself.  Moreso control is about having a company that grows, operates, and runs the way you want it to.  It means not having to compromise.  It takes a certain kind of personality to start a company on your own, where the idea of being self-motivated and a 'self-starter' are taken to the extremes.

I discovered early on starting a company with other people that nobody was perfect and nobody was the same.  I had an idealistic picture of everyone working together in perfect harmony towards our common goals of building this company, but the fact was that everyone had their own lives and building our company was just one part of that life for each of us, and to varying degrees.  The greatest friction amongst the founders came from the different degrees, at different points in time, that each was willing to dedicate towards the company, and the different expectations that each had in what their roles and responsibilities would be as the company evolved.  The concept early on was that everything would be equal, but in the end nothing was remotely equal.

I have had an absolutely fantastic time being the SOLE founder of a company.  It would have been great if I had other people from day 1 I could have shared some of the experiences with, but I have been able to hire great people along the way who have picked up that slack.

I think starting a company with others can be a great idea and a great experience.  If I started another company, I would strongly consider having one or two co-founders with me, and here is what would be my keys in joining forces with them:

1. A Player - Since I'm a venture-founder, I would only start a company with someone who would be, at face value and upon further examination, highly attractive to investors.  This means everything from good references to good education to good resume to good networks.
2. Complementary NOT Clone - I wouldn't start a company with myself as a co-founder.  I already bring all those skills and experience to the table.  I would look for someone who has different skills and experience that they can bring to the table, so that working together we make a more complete team.  I wouldn't work with someone who would want remotely the same title as I would later on.
3. Prior Work Relationships - I would only start a company with someone I have worked closely with in the past.  This is the ONLY way to know that you would actually work well with this person.  I wouldn't rule out friends, but I wouldn't use a start-up as the opportunity to work with a friend for the first time.
4. A Clear Boss - I would insist that there was clearly a boss in the founding team.  It might end up being me, or it might end up being someone else, but someone will be in charge, and everyone will understand that fact.

If I didn't find people that met all those criteria, I would probably not worry too much about it and just go out on my own.  The fact is the further along your company gets, the BETTER the opportunity you have to attract great people to join you, maybe even people you could not have attracted based purely on your own resume, personality, and idea.

Comments

[Mohit Dubey]

Dear,
Among all the VC posts that I read, your posts are the most relevant. I understand that you have been through thick and thin of things,, which a entrepreneur would realise in his journey. And if one gets to know some of these hard facts early on, it would make tremendous difference.
Very true, that early on everyone is equal but as company grows, not everyone grows equally and therefore they will not always be equal. But, one live with the earlier premise may be just to smoothen the frictions.
You rightly identify the traits for a co-founder.