Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2010

The feedback was good, but some readers asked me to be a bit more specific on attributes that might indicate an ideal business partner. In this article, I’m broadening the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” You may be too independent to be partner material. Does not need to be managed.

Partner 230

Partner Software Review CTO Hire Fractional CTO 230

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 5, 2023

Should they go after high-tech nerds for partners, or professional technologists? The right answer for a good business partner today is neither of the above. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology. Are you there? Martin Zwilling

Technical Cofounder 260

Technical Cofounder Technology Management Entrepreneur 260

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 20, 2015

As an advisor to startups, I often get asked what to look for in an ideal co-founder or business partner. After some reflection, I now realize these attributes are necessary but not sufficient to be an ideal business partner. This means every entrepreneur needs partners who are smarter than they are in complementary domains.

Partner 120

Partner Technical Review Due Diligence Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 26, 2021

As an example, I worked with Bill Gates early on, but I fear he may have failed without partners Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen. You will find that your team, partners, and vendors feel the same way. Gates was a software developer genius, but Ballmer upheld the marketing and business side. Paul Allen was the idea visionary.

Entrepreneur 341

Entrepreneur Angel Investor Partner Software Developers 341

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2022

Investors, partners, team members, and customers implicitly value or devalue a startup based on the leader’s physical presence, emotional identity, social skills, intellectual agility, moral values, and past performance in the domain. I have paraphrased his key points here as follows: Leader personal impact. Focus on talent and people growth.

Technical Review 323

Technical Review Due Diligence Valuation Leadership 323

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2020

Let’s take a hard look at the key potential weaknesses of a visionary, and the value of an execution-oriented partner, which the authors call an integrator : Staying focused and following through. Tends to hire helpers and not develop talent. Visionaries tend to get bored easily. This can be disruptive, as they love to break the mold.

Founder 329

Founder Cofounder Bandwidth Matching 329

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 15, 2019

The challenge is to recognize and recruit that ideal partner match early with minimal cost and risk. In fact, I would broaden the definition of partner from co-founder to “business partner.” The reason is that good attributes apply equally well to “external” partners, as they do to internal partners, like a co-founder or CTO.

Cofounder 221

Cofounder Software Review CTO Hire Founder 221

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2022

Every young entrepreneur needs an experienced partner for credibility with investors, and as a trusted cohort for strategy and growth discussions. They want to share your satisfaction in success, maybe as a reward for their own mistakes and learning earlier in life in their own businesses. Supportive co-founder and executive positions.

Advisory Board 368

Advisory Board Dividend Angel Investor Cofounder 368

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 12, 2022

These have helped them build trust and confidence among team members, and effectively sell their message to partners, investors, vendors and customers. This means hiring the right people, providing training and tools, and improving systems to overcome challenges. This applies to suppliers and business partners as well.

Leadership 317

Leadership Founder Startup Partner 317

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 4, 2022

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 309

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Startup 309

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

Then it extends to the hiring process. Investors (and team members and partners) find that it’s more effective to assess an entrepreneur’s fit to these personal characteristics than it is to assess the real potential of an idea, or the probability of good luck. Instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality.

Technical Review 269

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 269

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

You have to start with hiring only people who are willing and able to make serious customer service happen. How they see you deal with and talk about peers, partners, team members, and customers tells them what the real rules of conduct are for customer service. Don’t forget recognition for accomplishment and efforts.

Technical Review 249

Technical Review Salary Metrics Matching 249

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 15, 2020

Investors, partners, team members, and customers implicitly value or devalue a startup based on the leader’s physical presence, emotional identity, social skills, intellectual agility, moral values, and past performance in the domain. I have paraphrased his key points here as follows: Leader personal impact. Focus on talent and people growth.

Valuation 311

Valuation Technical Review Due Diligence Leadership 311

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2020

Get support from credible industry groups and partners. Minimize permanent hiring and customized operational facilities. In this age of the gig-economy, you can more quickly hire and manage freelancers, contract workers, and contract operations. Focus on a solution that is scalable world-wide.

Merger 386

Merger Software Review Acquisition Social Media 386

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 30, 2022

Be sure to hire and cultivate new talent with the right mindset. In addition to spreading the word internally, you need to create a dialogue externally with partners and customers. Get everyone involved, rather than count on a lonely inventor, or even a specialized group. Capitalize on free communal initiatives around you.

Technical Review 252

Technical Review Silicon Valley Software Review Metrics 252

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Trying to save money by recruiting family members, or hiring only interns, is a bad risk. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing. Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services.

Forecast 304

Forecast Stock Options Technical Review Metrics 304

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 16, 2014

Should they go after high-tech nerds for partners, or professional technologists? The right answer for a good business partner today is neither of the above. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology. Are you there?

Partner 259

Partner Entrepreneur Non-Compete Cofounder 259

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 22, 2022

They don’t realize that it takes more to succeed in business or a career – it takes leadership skills to get people to follow you, including peers, a team, business partners, and customers. Luckily, you can learn needed leadership skills. Count on the people around you to help. Celebrate small successes in your leadership efforts.

Leadership 285

Leadership Startup Networking Engineer 285

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup should have at least a couple of outside advisors who are not major investors or family members, anxious to talk to new investors and key new hires. These questions are the key ones in every due diligence effort, always done by accredited investors, but almost never done by key employees and new partners.

Technical Review 436

Technical Review Due Diligence Sweat Equity Burn Rate 436

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2021

You have to start with hiring only people who are willing and able to make serious customer service happen. How they see you deal with and talk about peers, partners, team members, and customers tells them what the real rules of conduct are for customer service. Don’t forget recognition for accomplishment and efforts.

Technical Review 385

Technical Review Salary Metrics Matching 385

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2020

These have helped them build trust and confidence among team members, and effectively sell their message to partners, investors, vendors and customers. This means hiring the right people, providing training and tools, and improving systems to overcome challenges. This applies to suppliers and business partners as well.

Entrepreneur 314

Entrepreneur Leadership Partner Networking 314

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Every startup should have at least a couple of outside advisors who are not major investors or family members, anxious to talk to new investors and key new hires. These questions are the key ones in every due diligence effort, always done by accredited investors, but almost never done by key employees and new partners.

Sweat Equity 207

Sweat Equity Burn Rate Technical Review Intellectual Property 207

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 18, 2020

Every young entrepreneur needs an experienced partner for credibility with investors, and as a trusted cohort for strategy and growth discussions. They want to share your satisfaction in success, maybe as a reward for their own mistakes and learning earlier in life in their own businesses. Supportive co-founder and executive positions.

Advisory Board 312

Advisory Board Startup Dividend Angel Investor 312

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2021

The key here is to create a win-win partner situation for your investors. The same thing goes for incorporating your company, having key hires lined up, and facilities arranged as required. They don’t like surprises, so you should explain any possible issues first, in the best possible light, before being asked.

Software Review 307

Software Review Due Diligence Elevator Pitch Early Stage 307

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 9, 2020

He gives a wealth of practical advice on building a successful technical startup, including some specifics that I like on what constitutes a dream team of partners: The technical guru. The rest can come from early hires (with stock options to assure commitment), equity investors, or even strategic partners.

Technical Cofounder 308

Technical Cofounder Cofounder Advisory Board Stock Options 308

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 31, 2012

The simple answer is to find a business partner, not an “implementer,” who already has the technical experience you need, and is willing and able to run that side of the business. Finding that person is not a hiring challenge, since neither of you really get paid until you both succeed. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 230

Technical Review Technology Founder Management 230

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2020

Then it extends to the hiring process. Investors (and team members and partners) find that it’s more effective to assess an entrepreneur’s fit to these personal characteristics than it is to assess the real potential of an idea, or the probability of good luck. Instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality.

Technical Review 308

Technical Review Kentucky Due Diligence Japan 308

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 8, 2020

Find a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Trying to save money by recruiting family members, or hiring only interns, is a bad risk. Risk is more manageable with subscriptions and even freemium pricing. Even non-profits need revenue to cover their costs, and continue to provide services.

Management 322

Management Entrepreneur Forecast Stock Options 322

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2020

Should they go after high-tech nerds for partners, or professional technologists? The right answer for a good business partner today is neither of the above. Startups succeed most often when the founding partners know how to build and run a business, rather than how to build and run technology. Are you there? Martin Zwilling.

Non-Compete 435

Non-Compete Cofounder Social Media Partner 435

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 15, 2011

Even experienced entrepreneurs need a partner to strengthen their position. The question is how to find that elusive perfect-fit partner. First, I will admit there is no magic formula here, just like in real life when trying to find a relationship partner. Join online “dating” sites for business partners. Hire a lawyer.

Partner 231

Partner Cofounder Silicon Valley Non-Compete 231

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Thus you need to understand how quickly anyone on your team can be the key to attracting a new set of customers, or the reason that critical partners, vendors, investors, or customers walk away. This has to start with selecting the right partners, and hiring people who believe in you and your business.

Technical Review 178

Technical Review Marketing Due Diligence Social Media 178

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 30, 2017

If you project a sense of desperation, or ignorance of the options and implications, no potential investor will give you the credibility to be your partner in a business. Rather than simply exchanging equity for cash, explore partnership arrangements where qualified partners contribute services for equity.

Technical Review 220

Technical Review Accredited Investor Due Diligence Equity 220

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 18, 2016

Let’s take a hard look at the key potential weaknesses of a visionary, and the value of an execution-oriented partner, which the authors call an integrator : Staying focused and following through. Tends to hire helpers and not develop talent. Visionaries tend to get bored easily. This can be disruptive, as they love to break the mold.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Founder Entrepreneur Startup 120

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2021

If you are not starting one yourself, the next best thing is joining one as a partner, or as an early employee. This will help you to become an opportunity magnet -- poised to attract, interview and "hire" your next employer. These days I see a surge of new startups as businesses seem to be recovering from the pandemic.

Community 420

Community Startup Hiring Differentiation 420

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 14, 2013

If you are not starting one yourself, the next best thing is joining one as a partner, or as an early employee. This will help you to become an opportunity magnet -- poised to attract, interview and "hire" your next employer. It takes much the same preparation to make you the best entrepreneur, or the best job candidate.

Partner 222

Partner Differentiation Networking Hiring 222

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 25, 2022

If you have had a bad day, or are in a negative state of mind, skip any tough negotiation sessions with partners and personnel discussions. Hire the best, and provide necessary training and tools. Do your homework on new investors, partners, and vendors. Formalize all business and partner agreements.

Advisory Board 336

Advisory Board Due Diligence Demand Partner 336

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 17, 2015

Let’s take a hard look at the key potential weaknesses of a visionary, and the value of an execution-oriented partner, which the authors call an integrator : Staying focused and following through. Tends to hire helpers and not develop talent. Visionaries tend to get bored easily. This can be disruptive, as they love to break the mold.

Cofounder 120

Cofounder Bandwidth Matching Leadership 120