Some of the world's most successful ventures have been driven by entrepreneurs who have formed strong founder partnerships, where the partners complement or amplify each other's strengths.
Be it Google, Twitter or Discovery, closer to home, these entrepreneurs have found people that they could trust and work with.
The biggest benefit of going into a venture alone is autonomy, but this benefit is dwarfed by the benefits that flow from finding the right partner to share successes and challenges with.
I often advise the entrepreneurs I work with to not pay much attention to owning 100% of a business, if they can find a partner that can help them grow their businesses to a point where the real value of 50% of the business is far greater than the real value of 100%.
Partners are useful for a number of reasons.
Firstly, a good partner is able to complement or amplify your efforts. Completing speaks to finding a partner with a different skill set to what you have and matching those skills to your own.
In my current business, my partner is so good at handling the day to day management of our business that I don't ever have to worry about this.
I was at a complete loss one time when we needed to file taxes, pay rent and salaries and he wasn't available. I found a new respect and appreciation for his management wizardry.
On the other hand, he leans on me for project and people management, and these are areas I thrive in.
And on a day to day basis, we split tasks according to our strengths, and our business is all the more profitable because neither of us are wasting time doing things we either hate or are not very good at.
Similarly, finding a partner that has similar skills to you is a good way to make sure that your business builds deep expertise in that skill set and is able to set itself apart in the market for being able to provide that skill better than everyone else, as your skill sets amplify each other.
Selecting either a partner that complements or amplifies your own skill set needs to be driven by your business's unique circumstances.
What is important, however, is to be certain of the kind of partner you need for your business.
The second useful benefit of forming partnerships is the ability to expand your businesses network beyond what each of the individual partners can achieve.
The many partnerships I have gotten into over the years have exposed both me and my businesses to networks I would have never been able to get into on my own.
These have included people's parents and friends from high school.
These networks have had the impact of greatly increase the profits that I reap from running a business to a level far greater than if I had just run my business alone, or depended on chance meetings with key contacts.
These days, if I need to speak to someone I don't just look at my own contact list, I have access to multiple contact lists, and I use them all with great impunity.
Thirdly, partners serve the purpose of sharing your journey.
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, fraught with challenges. I have often appreciated being able to send my partner to meetings I was unable to attend, and trusting that I have sent someone with as much to lose as I do.
I have also appreciated being able to share my anxieties with someone who has a working understanding of the source of those anxieties. But my best times have been popping a bottle of sparkling water to celebrate successes with someone who I believe feels exactly the same way in those times.
While I speak highly of partnerships, I have seen a lot of people go into the wrong partnerships.
I attribute this mainly to entrepreneurs not being honest and diligent enough in conducting due diligence on potential partners. To the point I made earlier, a partner either needs to complement or amplify your own efforts.
Where neither of these happen, that is not the person to partner with, even if they are a good friend or family member that is super keen on partnering with you.
Similarly, if what your business requires is a partner that complements your skill set, getting a partner that has exactly the same skill set as you and nothing else, in not a very good idea.
In my own entrepreneurial journey, I have had to say no to partnering with people I loved and respected, because they weren't the right partners at the time.
The process of getting into or ending a partnership need not be a painful one. My advice is to be very clear about the partner that you need and kindly and boldly explaining this to the world as you look for the right partner.
Gwebityala is the head of strategies at Nascence Advisory and Research
Partnerships lighten load
Some of the world's most successful ventures have been driven by entrepreneurs who have formed strong founder partnerships, where the partners complement or amplify each other's strengths.
Be it Google, Twitter or Discovery, closer to home, these entrepreneurs have found people that they could trust and work with.
The biggest benefit of going into a venture alone is autonomy, but this benefit is dwarfed by the benefits that flow from finding the right partner to share successes and challenges with.
I often advise the entrepreneurs I work with to not pay much attention to owning 100% of a business, if they can find a partner that can help them grow their businesses to a point where the real value of 50% of the business is far greater than the real value of 100%.
Partners are useful for a number of reasons.
Firstly, a good partner is able to complement or amplify your efforts. Completing speaks to finding a partner with a different skill set to what you have and matching those skills to your own.
In my current business, my partner is so good at handling the day to day management of our business that I don't ever have to worry about this.
I was at a complete loss one time when we needed to file taxes, pay rent and salaries and he wasn't available. I found a new respect and appreciation for his management wizardry.
On the other hand, he leans on me for project and people management, and these are areas I thrive in.
And on a day to day basis, we split tasks according to our strengths, and our business is all the more profitable because neither of us are wasting time doing things we either hate or are not very good at.
Similarly, finding a partner that has similar skills to you is a good way to make sure that your business builds deep expertise in that skill set and is able to set itself apart in the market for being able to provide that skill better than everyone else, as your skill sets amplify each other.
Selecting either a partner that complements or amplifies your own skill set needs to be driven by your business's unique circumstances.
What is important, however, is to be certain of the kind of partner you need for your business.
The second useful benefit of forming partnerships is the ability to expand your businesses network beyond what each of the individual partners can achieve.
The many partnerships I have gotten into over the years have exposed both me and my businesses to networks I would have never been able to get into on my own.
These have included people's parents and friends from high school.
These networks have had the impact of greatly increase the profits that I reap from running a business to a level far greater than if I had just run my business alone, or depended on chance meetings with key contacts.
These days, if I need to speak to someone I don't just look at my own contact list, I have access to multiple contact lists, and I use them all with great impunity.
Thirdly, partners serve the purpose of sharing your journey.
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, fraught with challenges. I have often appreciated being able to send my partner to meetings I was unable to attend, and trusting that I have sent someone with as much to lose as I do.
I have also appreciated being able to share my anxieties with someone who has a working understanding of the source of those anxieties. But my best times have been popping a bottle of sparkling water to celebrate successes with someone who I believe feels exactly the same way in those times.
While I speak highly of partnerships, I have seen a lot of people go into the wrong partnerships.
I attribute this mainly to entrepreneurs not being honest and diligent enough in conducting due diligence on potential partners. To the point I made earlier, a partner either needs to complement or amplify your own efforts.
Where neither of these happen, that is not the person to partner with, even if they are a good friend or family member that is super keen on partnering with you.
Similarly, if what your business requires is a partner that complements your skill set, getting a partner that has exactly the same skill set as you and nothing else, in not a very good idea.
In my own entrepreneurial journey, I have had to say no to partnering with people I loved and respected, because they weren't the right partners at the time.
The process of getting into or ending a partnership need not be a painful one. My advice is to be very clear about the partner that you need and kindly and boldly explaining this to the world as you look for the right partner.
Gwebityala is the head of strategies at Nascence Advisory and Research
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