Want to find the right co-founder for your business?
According to Rajiv Talreja, business coach and founder of Quantum Leap, Asia’s largest business training and coaching company, most businesses with partners fail because 1 person is always the initiator and the other is more laidback!
Being in business for the last 17 years, Rajiv understands the need for an aligned partner in business which is what he has experienced with Karan Hasija, his friend and co-founder of Quantum Leap Learning Solutions for the last 14 out of the 17 years.
Speaking from experience, Rajiv advices to take care of 3 aspects while choosing the right business partner-
- Complimentary skills- Both business partners should have complementary skills which means if one is good at Marketing & Sales and the frontend of business, the other needs to be the backbone- great at Operations and Systems; if one is into Management, the other needs to be strong in Finances and Accounting. This will help in strengthening the partnership and also demarcate specific roles for both partners who can then play to their absolute strengths!
- Common value system- Both partners need to be aligned to certain basic, common, demarcated and agreed-upon value systems which they both inherently embody and believe in. Alignment is the first step towards a fruitful partnerships. Even in the face of conflict this will help resolve things.
- Commitment to the vision- Both need to believe and strive to work together towards 1 common mission only then is a partnership business going to move ahead!
Thinking that having a partner in business is risky is often because people worry about disagreements or stepping on each other’s toes.
However, choosing a partner who is good at things you’re not can really help your business grow.
It means you both can do different things that are important, without stepping on each other’s toes.
This way, you cover more ground and make fewer mistakes because you can catch and fix each other’s slip-ups.
And when one of you knows something the other doesn’t, you both learn more and get better at what you do.
So, having a partner isn’t scary—it’s smart.