Entrepreneurial journeys can be lonely, so finding a co-founder right at the start is perhaps the first foundational block for building a startup. It\u2019s not that a solo founder isn\u2019t any good. But having a founding partner who brings complementary skills and can be an honest sounding board helps keep the journey bluntly real and weed out all the early confirmation biases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be sure, having a co-founder doesn\u2019t guarantee a startup\u2019s success. The number one reason cited by many researchers for startup failures is co-founder conflicts. And there are enough examples in the Indian SaaS \u2013 software as a service \u2013 ecosystem where co-founders part ways after the first few years. The separation is painful primarily, and it can mean an existential crisis for a startup if the founder agreements and transition plans aren\u2019t in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most startups result from former or existing colleagues and batchmates coming together as co-founders. So, there\u2019s already a sense of trust and camaraderie that binds them together. We rarely find a lonely founder looking for a co-founding partner like a chief technology officer (CTO) or chief product officer (CPO). And in such cases, having co-founder agreements becomes even more critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this chapter, we will bring deep conversations with SaaS founders who have lessons to share in putting together a foundational team, starting with the quest for their co-founders and going as far as hiring their first vice president of sales and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n