How to choose a partner for your startup?
Assembling the perfect founding team is one of the most important steps in creating a successful startup, but also one of the most difficult. If you're about to launch your own startup or want to strengthen your team, this blog will serve as a guide to building a solid foundation from the start.
In this blog, we will explore the ideas of Carlos Hernández Martín on how to form a team capable of imagining, building and selling an innovative product.
Carlos has been part of our great community for over five years and has always been willing to support and help address the concerns of others. Thanks to his training and extensive experience in the world of entrepreneurship, he stands out as one of the community's most brilliant mentors and trainers.
From the importance of having a clear vision to choosing essential roles such as CEO, CTO, and other strategic profiles, Carlos shares practical recommendations for avoiding decision-making blocks and achieving synergy among partners.
If you're launching your own startup or looking to strengthen your current team, this blog will guide you on how to choose the right partner to build a solid and lasting foundation. Let's get started!
What we will see in this article:
Key roles in the founding team
The relationship between co-founders: Like a marriage
Vision as a fundamental pillar
The alignment of values and expectations
Diversity as an advantage
The optimal size of the founding team
Avoiding blocks in decision-making
How to find the ideal co-founder
1. Key roles in a founding team
According to Carlos, a strong founding team should cover three key areas: vision, product development, and sales . In practical terms, this translates into three basic roles:
CEO : You need an ambitious CEO who can set the startup's strategic direction and keep everyone aligned with the vision. This role leads the team's focus and purpose.
CTO : A CTO provides the technical skills to develop the product and ensure it's innovative and scalable. This is key to sustaining the startup's technological progress.
Sales or Marketing Manager : Without someone who can connect the product with the market, the team loses a key part. This role opens doors and ensures the product has the desired impact.
Having these three roles defined allows each partner to be clear about their role and responsibilities, creating a more efficient dynamic from the start. Plus, it's always easier, more enjoyable, and more fun to start a startup with someone, rather than alone ;)
2. The relationship between co-founders: like a marriage
Starting a startup is a huge investment of time, effort, and energy, and the relationship between co-founders can be very similar to a marriage. Carlos recommends avoiding starting a company with close friends, family members, or partners , as these personal relationships can become complicated and affect professional focus. Instead, he suggests choosing someone with whom you share values, a vision, and clear goals for the startup.
To maintain a good relationship between partners, it is essential to have the skills to solve problems and make decisions together. Without good communication and the ability to manage conflict, the relationship can quickly deteriorate, affecting the company's performance.
3. Vision as a fundamental pillar
The startup's vision is at the heart of the entire founding team. Without a clear vision, founders can lose interest, become demotivated, and even abandon the project before reaching a more mature stage. For Carlos, the CEO is the one who must convey this vision and ensure that all members share it.
When all co-founders are aligned on a common vision, decisions are made faster and more effectively. This clarity also helps define goals and KPIs (key performance indicators) that keep the team focused and motivated, even during difficult times.
4. Alignment of values and expectations
Sharing values and expectations is essential for a healthy team. To avoid recurring conflicts, it's crucial that partners agree on aspects such as time commitments, responsibilities, and stock distribution. To avoid any misunderstandings, Carlos suggests discussing these issues openly before signing any agreement.
A good way to structure this relationship is through a shareholders' agreement , where each partner clearly understands their roles, responsibilities, and involvement in the business. This establishes a framework that helps minimize future disagreements.
5. Diversity as an advantage
Carlos also emphasizes that diversity within the founding team is an important asset. Complementary skills and different personalities (such as a combination of introverts and extroverts) enrich the team's perspective and help approach challenges from different angles.
Having a diverse team allows ideas to flow more freely and achieves a balanced decision-making process. This not only strengthens the startup's growth but also makes it easier to adapt to a changing market.
6. Optimal size of the founding team
For Carlos, the ideal founding team should have between three and five people . A team of this size allows for agility and speed, two key characteristics in the early stages of a startup. Furthermore, having an uneven number of partners helps avoid deadlocks on important decisions, streamlining the decision-making process.
Thus, with a small but well-balanced team, it is easier to maintain cohesion and focus, reducing the likelihood of conflict.
7. Avoiding blocks in decision-making
To minimize decision-making deadlocks, Carlos suggests implementing an unequal voting distribution or designating a partner (usually the CEO) as a tiebreaker . This allows for resolving any conflicts or ties in critical decisions.
This structure ensures that the startup doesn't waste time in endless discussions and allows the team to move forward more efficiently.
8. Find the right co-founders
So you might be wondering: how can I find the right co-founders for my project?
If you're looking for a founding partner, a great idea is to start by participating in startup, technology, or entrepreneurship events and communities .
These environments are filled with like-minded people with an entrepreneurial spirit. You can also consider former colleagues or participate in collaborative projects that allow you to observe their skills and compatibility.
Let's recap!
Starting a startup is an adventure, and having the right partner can be the key to success. When choosing your partner, look for someone who shares your values, is aligned with your vision, and brings complementary skills.
Within our community, many synergies have been created over the past 15 years, and it could be a perfect place to connect with people who want to "marry" your project. An example of this synergy is the startup Teltoo, which emerged from two different teams that participated and met in one of our programs. Furthermore, this startup managed to exit and was acquired by Haivision .
Building a strong, united team is the best investment you can make at the start of your venture. At Tetuan Valley , our community of entrepreneurs provides the perfect environment to connect with people who share your values, vision, and passion for building something great. Many of our members have found their ideal partners here, or have simply formed alliances with people who see the world the same way.
So we invite you to join this community ;) and if you'd like to know more about us, you can take a look at our social networks .
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