How have you built trust and strengthen relationships between other co-founders in a new startup?
I am doing research for an article on my blog, FixingTheGlitch.com. I am writing about building trust and loyalty between a startup's co-founders during the infancy stages of the company. What have you done to successfully strengthen the relationships between your co-founders as the company grows? Has the selection of a CEO impacted your relationships? Have you encountered power struggles or difficulties defining roles of co-founders?
Answers (2)
Douglas W
District Technician
Best Answers in: Internationalization and Localization (1), Ethics (1)
Well, maybe it's a round-about answer to your question, but I can tell you a few things that DON'T build trust and strengthen relationships between co-founders.
Don't make demands. As soon as you push your agenda on a partner, you lose some of their trust. If they refuse to meet your demands, they lose some of your trust.
Sign the papers. Sure, it might seem like making the paperwork mandatory is a sign of distrust between partners, but as partners sit down and agree to the various aspects of the business they build trust. If there are no contracts, there is no trust. Refusing to sign paperwork shows that you lack the ability to commit to the business.
Don't go into business with friends of friends. Even worse, don't go into business with your spouse's boss.
Dave S
Trusted Advisor
Best Answers in: Staffing and Recruiting (3), Labor Relations (2), Venture Capital and Private Equity (1), Starting Up (1)
Partnerships are tenuous at best.
Firstly I use a basic org chart and name all the partners as shareholders. This usually takes the edge off as they can see that no matter what roles each of them take responsibility for there is an accountability to the shareholders.
The next step is to draw up detailed org chart and have the individuals take responsibility for different roles in the organization. There may be many hats passed around at this stage.
Another important exercise is to have each of the partners discuss what their long term objectives ($'s and role) and what standards and values they hold dear.
This is important because the partners will need to know at what point a partner will exit or where the points of conflict are right up front.
