5. Aug 24

Questions to ask your (potential) CO-FOUNDER

to build a strong founding team

Starting a business with a co-founder can be one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of your entrepreneurial journey at the same time. The benefits of founding in a team are significant:
You’re not alone in navigating the ups and downs and have a built-in sparring partner
You carry the responsibility on more shoulders by sharing risks and costs. This is also essential for external funding.
You save time by sharing tasks and multiply your network to open doors for new opportunities
You bring together complementary skills as well as diverse perspectives.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that the founding team is often a primary reason startups fail (e.g. see RKW, or Gründerpilot). Thus ensuring alignment with your co-founder on the company’s direction, strategy, culture, communication, and roles is a must. This also includes having a well-setup and transparent legal framework.

So how do you know if someone is the right partner for your business endeavour?

There’s no universal formula when it comes to finding the perfect match. But you want to make sure you can envision yourself working with your co-founder(s) for the next years to come and see yourself going to battle with them.
But no matter how thorough your interview process, consistent effort is needed to maintain alignment. Staying on the same page as a team takes effort, but the rewards are immense.
This article aims to support you in finding the right co-founder by asking the right questions or to enhance the relationships within your existing founding team. The questions and topics to discuss are based on a mix of our own experiences, scientific research, hiring practices, team-building strategies, and psychological insights. By having open conversations about these questions, you can lay a strong foundation for a successful partnership.

Here we go: Following are questions to ask your (potential) co-founder(s) to spark conversations about your business and its goals as well as your personal values in respect to worklife.
Answer them together, or let each write down their own answer, then talk about your thoughts. Below you can also find a downloadable print version if you want to ask each other.

QUESTIONS

to ask your (potential) co-founder

1. VISION

Where do you see our company in 1 year / 5 years / 10 years?

Where do you see yourself in our company in 1 year / 5 years / 10 years?

If you would sum it up: What problem are we solving with the company and for whom?

Why do you care about that problem?

What impact do you want to have with our company?

2. Money

What compensation is the minimum you need to afford your everyday life / to live comfortably / to say "I've made it"?

The first word that comes to mind: What is money for you?

What is the minimum compensation you would pay our first employee? Is there a cap on the salary you would pay ourselves?

How do we divide equity? What feels fair to you?

How would you feel about bringing in outside money (VC, Business Angels,..)? What would be most important to look for in an investor?

Would you be willing to sell the company? If so, what number would you sell at? What would be your optimum exit scenario - to whom would you sell the company?

3. Roles and Responsibilities

What do you see yourself being the leading person for within the company and why?

In one word: What is your role within the team?

What is something you want to improve yourself in? What is a new skill you want to learn?

What do you think the other is best at?

How are decisions being made, especially when we are in disagreement?

If we split up, what would you want to happen to the company and your shares?

On which topics and how often are meetings necessary? What touchpoints do you see us having?

How do we hold each other responsible for our commitments? How do we track our progress?

4. Leadership

How are we empowering each other to be successful?

How would you help your employees to grow?

What makes a leader great for you?

What are your best and worst experiences with leadership and what do you take from them?

5. Motivation

Why do you want to be a founder? Why now? What motivates you to make this work?

What part of the future excites you the most?

When do you feel most proud?

What is success to you?

How do you get yourself to do things you aren’t excited about?

6. Company Culture

If you had to describe the company culture you want to create in three words, what would they be?

What is the most important thing you would look for in hiring employees?

Who do you think should give feedback to whom and how often?

What distinguishes a good team from a great team?

Is it important to you to socialize with co-workers?

How important is diversity & inclusion? How would you make sure to put that into action?

7. Worklife

Do you want to work from an office or at home? What surroundings do you need to perform best?

How many hours do you want to work in a day? Do you have different expectations in that regards for different phases of the company’s lifespan? How flexible are you with your work hours? Are you going to work on weekends?

How do you like to structure your day / week / month / year?

At which times do you think you're most productive? What do you need to be productive at work?

How long are your breaks during a day? What do you like to do to take a break?

Do you prefer to work alone or in a team? Do you prefer face-to-face meetings, phone calls, emails, or instant messaging for work communication?

8. Personality

How are you most likely to react when put under pressure? What do you need in these moments?

How do you handle changes and unexpected challenges? Do you prefer having a detailed plan and sticking to it, or are you more comfortable with flexibility and spontaneity?

Do you see the big picture or focus on details?

Do you tend to focus on possibilities, ideas and what could be or rather facts, implementation and reality of things?

How do you handle conflicts or disagreements in a professional setting? How do you prefer to receive / give feedback?

How do you ensure that you understand someone else's point of view during a conversation?

9. Family & Work-life-Balance

What role do you think family plays in building our business?

What helps you balance care work and working on our business?

What is work-life balance to you?

Who is your support net? Where do you get advice from?

If you have children:

What do you need to best handle responsibilities at home and at work?

What is the biggest strength you gained through being a parent?