Cofounder Success: Cofounding a Team the Right Way

Congratulations on discovering a brilliant idea and deciding to start a company with your best friend and brother. However, in the rush of excitement, you failed to delve into each other's expertise, motivations, and resources. Despite your love for each other, you divided the equity ownership into even thirds. Two months later, you realize your best friend has contributed very little and intends to leave the company while keeping his 1/3 share.

Now, you and your brother are carrying the workload while your best friend receives an equal share of the profits. This situation highlights the importance of understanding the basics of forming a strong cofounder relationship before diving in. While you may be enthusiastic now, it's crucial to consider the potential consequences of neglecting due diligence.

I frequently encounter the aforementioned statement, yet... two-thirds of startups ultimately fail due to disagreements among founders. Founding a business is not as straightforward as drafting an agreement and sealing it with a handshake. In reality, there are 7 essential steps to establish a founding team that will thrive and endure.

This course is structured into 7 steps along with 2 bonus lessons. We strongly recommend completing all of them. If you are only interested in specific steps, feel free to choose the ones most relevant to you.

• Step 1: Determining if having a partner is the right choice for you
• Step 2: Identifying the qualities to look for in a cofounder
• Step 3: Preselecting your cofounders
• Step 4: Establishing a relationship with your cofounders
• Step 5: Defining roles and responsibilities
• Step 6: Equitably dividing ownership
• Step 7: Formalizing it in a Cofounder Agreement
• Bonus A: Negotiating and learning from cofounder conflict
• Bonus B: Rectifying cofounder mistakes

This course will equip you with comprehensive knowledge before embarking on the entrepreneurial journey with a cofounder. Don't enter a founder relationship blindly; leverage the experiences of seasoned individuals and follow a proven roadmap to enhance your chances of cofounder success.

If you're prepared to contribute to changing the world by establishing your dream company with a cofounding team, we look forward to seeing you in the first lesson!

1. New business owners
2. Entrepreneurs
3. Co-founders
4. Startup founders
5. Business partners

1. The animations and way of teaching was very good ~ Shubham B
2. The course is very informative ~ Frederick A
3. Yes, indeed! Thanks for the learnings ~ Ethel V
4. If E-Lectures aren't your cup of tea; this informative and interesting presentation gives PDF versions of each lecture which are hand-formatted and beautifully made. Amazing Course ~ Theo M
5. This course is short but brilliant. It's well designed, the content is pure gold if you are looking to start a business. Much recommended ~ Y Guillon

1. Learn how to find the perfect cofounding team that meets your qualifiers
2. Learn how to analyze and pick cofounders that fill your company gaps
3. Use a proven strategy to document the essential requirements to avoid cofounder confrontation
4. Use a systematic approach to dividing up company equity
5. Use custom built calculators to arrive at fair equity splits
6. Learn how to use milestones and vesting to protect yourself from a "bad cofounder" relationship
7. Understand the three different frameworks for splitting equity
8. Learn about and access a "Cofounders' Collaboration Agreement" to protect your interest in the company
9. Use resources to help you negotiate and fix future cofounder problems

1. Be willing to protect yourself from a poor cofounder relationship
2. You have an open mind and the willingness to build a REAL cofounder relationship
3. Be willing to avoid cofounder conflict at all costs!