Want to start, get a cofounder

Launching a startup is akin to setting off a long, tough journey. As such, it is vital to figure out how to start off the journey and with who. One of the issues to figure out would be, a cofounder to run the startup with. For the traditional startup, most owners prefer starting out alone. The idea is therefore, start out alone and get to share all the profits alone, call it ‘the sole – proprietorship concept’. It is much more of a greedy approach to ownership. But why would you need to start out with someone else?

Human nature
It is human that we would not want to let our friends down. A startup with only one founder lacks this aspect. Imagine a marriage with only one partner. Well, there can never be one. During the low points in a startup, the single handed founders rarely bear the heat and the sooner they throw in the towel.

Brainstorming
Not every idea you think of will be the next winner. Someone to brainstorm ideas with, or rather a cofounder, would be ideal. It is during brainstorming that the stupid ideas are aired and eliminated. Well, if the stupid ideas are not sieved, chances are that they get implemented, elongating the chain of implementation. You therefore expect the quality of ideas to be good enough where there is a cofounder.

Skill, expertise and funding
Many startup founders are faced with the problem of having to wear many hats. As such, a cofounder allows you to leverage on their abilities to either help out in operations or even source out for more funding from investors. When searching for a cofounder, you should therefore consider to access what they bring to the startup, in terms of their area of expertise and what they contribute towards the capital requirements.
Ultimately, starting out alone may seem easy in instances where the founder prefers to run the show alone and considering low or no in-fighting but there are high chances of getting a burn out with no one to take over the mantle of leadership.

Paul Njuguna is a financial and cost accountant. Email:paul@paulnjuguna.com