What are the benefits of having a co-founder?

Created on 22 August, 2022Business • 3 minutes read

Setting up a business on your own can be quite easy, after all, you are completely in control.

Setting up a business on your own can be quite easy, after all, you are completely in control. But in some cases, it can also be quite nice to spar with someone about certain topics. In that case, having a co-founder in his favor. But that's not the only advantage of having a co-founder. Are you in doubt about starting a business alone or with someone? These are the benefits of having a co-founder.

First of all: what exactly is meant by a co-founder? It is simply a co-founder, someone with whom you start your company together.

What is the difference between a founder and a co-founder?

In most cases, the idea is conceived by the founder of a company, after which a co-founder is brought in to actually turn this idea into an idea. In some cases, a co-founder is brought in because of the extra knowledge, skills, or financing.

Responsibilities

Of course, it completely depends on the agreements you make with your co-founder regarding responsibilities, but a number of tasks that are often fulfilled by a co-founder are, for example:

Developing a business plan The founder of a company can sometimes have a certain image of the company, that is almost no longer realistic. It can therefore be nice to hire someone with whom you can spar well, but who also has a different view of the company. This will prevent you from experiencing tunnel vision and the co-founder can develop or improve the business plan.



Staying focused on the USPs

What exactly do you want to sell with your company, in other words: what are your Unique Selling Points? Here too, a founder can sometimes lose track. As a founder, you may want too much, so that it is no longer entirely clear what the purpose of your company was. A co-founder can keep you on the right track.

Finding the best employees may be difficult for you as a founder to transfer part of your own company to employees. It is difficult for many founders to outsource or delegate something because they think it is best to 'solve this themselves. A co-founder can also help you with this. This person is slightly further away from the product than you are, and can therefore better estimate which employees are needed with the right skills to really add value to the company.

Viewing the market opportunities Where are the opportunities to market your company? Just like outsourcing your own idea and company, it can be difficult to market your company as well as possible. It is a lot easier for a co-founder to see "the bigger picture" so that bigger steps can be taken. And that is certainly important for a growing company!

Taking financial steps although the founder is more the brain behind the company, the co-founder can actually help the company further. As mentioned, a co-founder often sees a little better in what the bigger picture should be and can therefore also take the right financial steps.

What should you keep in mind when looking for a co-founder?

Are you considering hiring a co-founder? Make sure this is a person who can really help you with your business. Working on a business together isn't easy and a lot of friendships have already been lost because two friends decided to start a business together. Everything you need to know before appointing someone as a co-founder is described in this article.

Would you like to receive a co-founders contract template?

Download the contract, in Dutch (VOF) and/or English (LLC).