While not all entrepreneurs need co-founders, many prominent and successful companies in the world have been founded by friends – Bill Gates and Paul Allen (Microsoft), Larry Page and Sergei Brin (Google), Steve Jobs, and Steve Wozniak (Apple), among others. Not surprisingly, many were long-time school friends, college friends or camaraderie. Others didn’t get along initially, and some are not amicable despite their successful joint venture.
Even the Indian startup ecosystem has produced many co-founders who created a successful business despite various challenges. Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal (Meesho), Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati (Ola), Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah (Zomato), Prabkiran Singh and Siddharth Munot (Bewakoof), and many others have gilded their names in the realm of entrepreneur.
On the surface, things seem realistic but are often more superficial, with nearly every aspect of initial friendship being tested. Eisner, a former CEO of The Walt Disney Company, co-authored a book on successful business partnerships, highlights the similarities between business and marriage partners; he writes: “Like in any successful marriage, business partners find ways to get around the dilemmas and the disagreements, and then use the adage that ‘one plus one is a lot more than two’ to build up their companies, and rise above in a world that is dominated by people who think working alone is better.”
Table of Contents
Breeding Contempt
Joining forces with best friends to commence business often results in eroding mutual respect. Knowing too much about a partner can be challenging, which can lead to disagreements in making business decisions despite being ‘best friends,’ similar to the struggle between marriage and family. This seems to be a potential issue for business partners, which can disrupt the business’ viability in the long run.
Double-Edged Sword Is Difficult To Handle
Trust between two friends is like a double-edged sword, which is challenging to handle when you know and trust too much. As best friends are likely embedded with each other’s personal lives, it could be a herculean task to separate personal life from business, ultimately creating a bag full of personal and business problems, making it taxing to solve.
Occurrence Of Inevitable Changes
The dynamic of friendship alters over time, regardless of whether friends work together or not. This is pretty expedient in workplaces. Steve Wozniak, the Apple co-founder, recalled the friend who told him, “You’ve got to meet Steve Jobs because he knows this digital electronics … And he likes to play pranks.’ I was very much a fun humorist all my life … he came by, and we started talking and sure enough, we hit it off … and we just became, you know, the best friends for a long time.” He felt that Steve Jobs sidetracked him and his team, which led him to leave Apple. Wozniak told Guy Kawasaki on his podcast that “Jobs wanted to be important in the world, though he didn’t have academic and business background, he had me.” Friends can form and preserve the friendship as long as there’s hardly any change.
Fundamental Disagreements
Many founders’ friendships, including Facebook, Twitter, Tinder, Modern Health, and the list goes on, didn’t survive the startup stage. As per CBI Insights, “though some startups survive breakups and thrive, “Not the right team” and “Disharmony among team/investors” were ranked among the top 10 reasons why startups fail.” Startup challenges like pivoting or funding often require founding members to prioritise professionalism over friendship. This might lead to fundamental disagreements, intimidating both friendship and the business altogether.
Henry Ford, the modern age’s first startup entrepreneur, attributed the quote to his best friend, “My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” Can a founder truly ask for something more valuable than this?”
As the famous adage goes, a friend in need is a friend indeed. Entrepreneurs who have successfully established their businesses with their best friends by mutually respecting each other’s decisions and flows are the true trailblazers. Also, the ability to support each other in difficult times, in decision-making, and focus on finding the solution without blaming one another is key.
