Why You Need to Pick Your Co-Founders Very Carefully to Ensure Startup Success Selecting a co-founder for a startup is quite similar to choosing a life partner. It's a long-term commitment, and it's crucial to make the right choice to avoid driving each other crazy.

Picking your co-founders and other key partners could be one of the most important decisions an entrepreneur makes. Many founders simply look for a complementary skillset to round out the management team's needs, but getting this decision right is so much more than that.

Startups are hard enough to build as they are, yet having to add the burden of making the wrong personnel decisions can really set your business and peace of mind into a tailspin. This article will help you get it right to give your business the highest odds of success.

What is a co-founder?

Before we dig in here, it is important to define what exactly a co-founder is. It is someone who most likely will be: (i) helping your startup dream become a reality, most likely with a meaningful equity stake; (ii) someone who you will be spending a ton of time with, burning the midnight oil; and (iii) is a person who will have a lot of opinions, power and sway within the organization.

That sounds like a really important person you need to be 100% in lock-step with.

Related: 7 Traits to Look For in a Co-Founder

What are you looking for in a co-founder?

When picking a good co-founder, you want to make sure: (i) the two of you have a shared vision for the business—both pulling in the same direction; (ii) you have complementary skills filling in the holes within the senior management team; (iii) your approach to management is the same, and (iv) you have complementary personalities, given how much time you will be spending with each. Let's dig into each of these points below.

1. A shared vision

Startups need to be very efficient and very fast to succeed. Anything that slows the business down or pulls it in opposite directions is a recipe for disaster. It is mission-critical that you and your co-founder have a shared vision of what you are building. For example, maybe at the high level, you both know you are building a "travel business."

But, when you peel back the onion layers, are you both building the same type of travel business? One of you can't be building a "tour operator" while the other is trying to build a "cruise line." You both have to come to an agreement up front and stay religiously focused on that crystal clear and shared vision so you are both pulling in the same direction.

Related: The Power Of Two: The Importance Of Having a Co-Founder

2. Complementary skillsets

Having complementary skillsets is a pretty obvious goal here. Let's say you are a business person with a good idea that could be built with technology but don't know anything about technology development. It would make sense to find a co-founder with deep technology skills to lead those efforts and make your vision a reality.

So, in this case, you really don't "need" another business visionary, human resources, or marketing person in this role. Make sure you get the biggest "bang for your buck" with a person who can fill the most roles that you are not comfortable filling yourself, preferably with a person who has a deep track record of referenceable success in those roles.

3. Complementary management style

This point is often overlooked. You both have to have a similar approach to management, or you may end up driving each other crazy. Let's say you are a person who likes to delegate and empower your team to get their job done with limited oversight.

However, your co-founder is a "manage by committee" kind of person who has to be involved in every decision. That's the same as trying to arrange a marriage between someone who likes to be pampered in nice hotels and someone who prefers to be in the wild camping. It will never work.

Not only will it frustrate you, stepping on each others' toes, but in addition, it will frustrate the junior team confused by an inconsistent approach to management, with half the organization "happy" with their autonomy and the other half "suffocated" by the micromanagement, creating huge cultural issues within the organization.

Related: 5 Expert Tips on How to Choose a Co-Founder for Your New Business

4. Complementary personality

Back to the marriage comparison, can you ever see a "Bubbly Optimist" settle down with a "Debbie Downer"? Probably not. Given the amount of time you will spend together, you have to make sure you personally "click."

Any of those personal idiosyncrasies of you or your co-founder will ultimately end up ruffling many feathers. You want to like and enjoy the time you spend with your co-workers, and if dealing with your co-founder ends up a "chore," it will create a lot of animosity and unhappiness in its wake. And there is simply no time for that in the startup world.

Related: 10 Questions to Ask Before Committing to a Business Partner

Potential pitfalls

One potential pitfall in finding a co-founder is working with a personal friend or family member. I have seen hiring friends as co-founders work out just fine. But more likely, I have seen hiring friends as co-founders "crash and burn."

You need to be 100% open and honest with your co-founder when things are not going right, and sometimes being friends with someone can get in the way of true transparency, as you don't want to tell them what you truly feel for not wanting to hurt their feelings and bruise your personal relationship with them. There is no time or place for that with startups. So, buyer beware if you go down this path of working with friends or family.

Closing thoughts

Hiring your co-founder will be one of the most important decisions you make. Hopefully, this article will help ensure you make the correct decision about who to hire and partner with, instead of one that ultimately creates personal strains, results in the business struggling and eventually has you both looking for the exit. Good luck!