Why having co-founders is better for you and your business
Can you start and run a successful business all by yourself? Of course you can. Millions of entrepreneurs are doing it right now.
But would starting and running that business be easier if you decided to do it with a like-minded, ambitious co-founder with a complementary skillset?
That’s what small business financer Ondeck decided to look at in its most recent study on leadership. Based on data collected from a range of online business resources, including feedback from some highly-successful business owners, it outlines all the good parts and all the not-so-good parts of starting a business with a co-founder.
The study has all the big data on co-founding a business against going solo. And according to the numbers, partnering up is the way to go. OnDeck’s team of researchers found that…
- 8 out of 10 billion-dollar companies founded in the USA since 2005 have two or more founders
- Co-founder businesses grow 3X faster than those with a single founder.
- 14% of single-founder companies fail because their founders lack the right skills, knowledge, or experience
- Solo founders take more than 3X longer to scale up their business and are far less likely to perform a quick pivot when the market demands
As well as explaining why you need a co-founder, the infographic created by OnDeck shows you how to find and, more importantly, work with the right kind of co-founder. It outlines several key pieces of practical advice on managing co-founder relationships, such as allocating duties and responsibilities, discussing equity splits, and managing those ego clashes (which will happen!)
But co-founding isn’t for everyone. So OnDeck added a final section for the lone-wolf types who prefer to live life and run businesses on their own terms. It breaks down the six top tips they need to follow when running a business all by themselves.
See what they are in the infographic below.
