Working with co-founders: how to do it smoothly?

I have been working with my co-founders for 5 years and I can't imagine my business without them. All three of us have smth diffrent to add in our business, so together we create a perfect combo.

Here are some tips that helped us to build a prospering co-founding team at Refocus

In the beginning, the key factor bringing us together was the desire for both professional and personal growth. Igor came from a corporation where he was unchallenged and intellectually bored. Roma wanted to found his own agency at that time. For me, it was my first serious job overall. The desire to make change our daily bread united us.

What can I recommend you when searching / choosing co-founders for your business?

• Don't do business with friends. Do business with people who then may become your friends. If you do business with friends, you run the risk of changing the person's attitude and with it your relationship.

• It's important to become friends while building your business. We three are very different, but we have a lot in common. We grew up in the same city, we have a similar cultural code. We generally also have a great time outside of work (we do hang out together, too!). I wouldn’t do business with people with whom I have nothing in common other than work - after all, you‘ll spend 12+ hours a day with these people.

• Intentionally create space for personal emotions. We schedule weekly sessions where we talk and share both professional and personal challenges we experience.