So when I look back on my many failings as an entrepreneur, in the end, it’s all about the team.
Almost all my failings as a CEO and founder came from failing to get that one extra great VP hired, that one critical hire.
And cofounder is the most complicated of all. Yes, some of the best can do it without a co-founder. But 90% of public SaaS companies had 2 or more co-founders. And personally, I”m just not good enough to be great without one.
And I have only truly flown when I’ve had a great co-founder. I’ve done OK without one, and kept the engines going, the plane in the air. And I’ve also found a great co-founder later. They don’t always have to be there on Year 1. You can even find one years down the road.
And I’ve come up short of my potential when I let co-founder conflict become a real issue.
I get it, when it happens. Especially when one cofounder is more passionate about the business. When one is an 11 in terms of passion and commitment, and another is an 8 or 9. Or really smart, but a 7.
But what I think I’ve learned is even if your co-founder isn’t quite as committed as you, if they are still a 10 as an executive, and they are 90% of the way there in terms of commitment … don’t let them, go.
At least not unless you are 100% sure you have someone better on deck.
What I’ve seen after co-founder break-ups, more often that not, is:
- Product velocity slows down. Without that brilliant product co-founder, an outside just isn’t the same.
- Going multi-product gets much harder. You often really need one of the co-founders to spearhead a massive second product effort. When I talk to founders that never made the jump to multo-product, I ask them if they had a great co-founder at scale. The answer is usually No.
- It’s harder to go super long. So founder break-ups often lead to earlier exits. Not th end of the world, but a huge bummer if it could have been so much bigger.
When I look across the SaaStr Fund portfolio now, from start-ups just starting to $2.5B exits and several at well past $200m ARR, one thing is clear: the ones without an active great co-founder are struggling more.
All I can tell you is this: if co-founder conflict is building, try to nip it in the bud.
Bring in help. Talk it out. Tell yoru co-founder you love them — if you do. Be empathetic. Stop being hurt, if you are hurt. Get past it.
Sometimes, you do have to break-up with your co-founder. I get it.
But I’ve talked several teams back from the edge. Not my favorite job, but one I am OK at. Because I’ve lived it. And seen what happened to me when I lost a truly great co-founder.
Try harder, if they are great. Try again. One more time.
Even if they aren’t what they once were, don’t let the great ones go, if they are still great. Or even just close to great. A co-founder knows so much, so deeply. It’s almost impossible to replace that. Even at $100m-$200m ARR, it’s hard. Even after that.
This stuff is hard. Per Carta, 25% of start-ups lose a co-founder by Year 4:
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Look at these 2 co-founders, Brian and Dharmesh of HubSpot. Their relationship has changed a lot over the years. Dharmesh stop managing a team a long ways back. Brian much, much later moved to Chairman from CEO. But the depth of that relationship, and respect, is clear in this SaaStr deep dive. 20 years in.
