Why cofounder is often a bad idea

For over two years, we at potis.ai have been helping funders expand their team. And regularly founders come to me with the question, "How to find a cofounder". Last week I had another conversation on this topic and I decided to write down why a cofounder is often a bad idea.

Here's why. A story in three parts

Part 1: "I definitely need a co-founder" at least because doing something together is cool and results come faster

• You can apply skills and expertise from different fields
• Some believe having a co-founder makes your business more attractive to investors, though statistics support this only 50/50
• Motivation: when you're burned out, there's someone who understands and supports you (if you're lucky)
• Brainstorming: when one is stuck, the other is full of ideas, so the creative process never stops
• etc

Part 2: The other side – hidden conflicts

• "Who's the boss?" This question arises immediately for both founders and concerns profit, status, influence, and anything that can mostly belong to just one person
• "I was counting on you." When the first founder couldn't deliver, the second had to do the work for both due to deadlines. Or if one invests 70% effort while the other only 30%, the hardworking one will eventually get angry
• Shared responsibility: It's about one doing nothing while the other works hard, yet they share profits equally. The lazy co-founder blames the hardworking one for mistakes and gaps. For the team, the project is a collective effort, so it doesn't matter who does what; achievements are credited equally.

Part 3: At one point, everything breaks down
Let's say you and your co-founder are 50/50 partners (the same applies to 40/60 or 30/70). The moment comes to make a joint decision about:

• Priorities and focus for resource allocation (both personal and financial)
• Product development direction
• Round terms
• Hiring staff

The red flag for disagreements is raised. A hard decision deadlock will soon follow. The business risks "freezing" until the issue is resolved.

Conclusion
The only solution is a shared understanding of acceptable losses.

Imagine family life. A husband and wife occasionally conflict, but they both know that the family is their value and responsibility. They could separate, but their shared worldview, plans, and feelings bind them together every time. They find a compromise because the family is their absolute joint goal, and its destruction is an unacceptable outcome.

Now, think about your co-founder—do you really have the same view of unacceptable outcomes? Or could they just leave and move on to another project?
In the end, the choice is yours. And it's a tough one because you need to find someone with similar values and the same view on unacceptable consequences.

If you find "your" co-founder, you are lucky and probably won the lottery!

I'm genuinely happy for you and would love to hear your story of meeting and working together.